Foreword: READ THIS FIRST!

This is just a bit of fun I decided to write, involving my favorite comic book universe. It is set in a Pre-Flashpoint Earth that's a lot like the continuity was, before Flashpoint happened. You already know not to take it too seriously... right? LOL

I wrote this several years ago, but decided to resubmit it here on Lit. Just because.

Enjoy the ride, folks! :)

I.D.

*****

Chapter 1: Freefall

I fell through the sky after jumping from the X-98 Imp. Down through the night air I fell over Afghanistan. The wind whipped around me, and I felt the adrenaline pumping through me as I plunged towards the ground at breakneck speed. This was what I had trained for. This was one of the reasons I'd been recruited in the first place. Only this time, I was off the books. I was on a rescue mission. It would be tough, but I was confident in my skills.

Who am I? I'm Adam DeVries. My codename is Caliburn, and I'm a Checkmate Operative. I'm 5'11", 175 lbs. of wiry muscle, medium brown hair and dark blue eyes. My spider silk armored combat suit was dark gray and black and covered my entire body from neck to feet. My mask with Goggle attachment made me look like one of the Superheroes who wear the full masks to hide their identities.

I guess a little backstory is required about how I ended up in freefall over Afghanistan.

***FOUR YEARS AGO***

I was born in Santa Barbara, CA. I grew up in a fairly happy house with my parents. My father was a real asshole, but at least my mom more than made up for that. She was the sweetest woman in the world, and always made me feel loved. All in all, I was fairly normal. I had a part time job on weekends. I took martial arts training, paid for by my dad at first, then me after I discovered how useful it was.

That was before my father came home one night in a drunken rage over some bullshit at work and took it out on my mom. I was 18 at the time, and was well into my Senior Year of High School. It was the week of Senior Prom when it happened, and I was thinking of calling Jenny Saunders to see if she would go with me. Mom and dad had already volunteered as Chaperones for Prom

All thoughts of Jenny disappeared when I entered the house, though.

He had started beating her without warning, calling her all sorts of names while pounding her face to a bloody pulp. When I'd gotten home that night from my Jiu Jitsu class, I could hear the sickening thud of his fist hitting her face and body over and over. I sprinted around the corner into the kitchen, and mom was laying on the floor in a pool of her own blood. I looked up at my father and saw him turn to grin at me sickeningly. His fist and face were covered with mom's blood.

"Your bitch of a mother didn't have my dinner cooked all the way when I got home!" He explained in an insane voice.

That was when I felt the snap inside me. I had been afraid that something like this would happen, but this was beyond my ability to comprehend at first. Then I struck. Years of hand to hand combat training kicked in, thanks to my father wanting me to learn martial arts as a boy. No son of his was going to grow up to be a wimp.

That worked against him now, as I rushed him and grabbed. I shifted my weight and threw him away from her. She was still breathing, and I would be damned if I let him hurt her again. The snap inside me had shown what would happen if I didn't intervene and do what I had to do. I couldn't allow that to happen.

My father stood up and laughed at me. "Do you really think you can stop me, son?"

I didn't answer, but immediately attacked. I struck hard and fast, slamming my fists into his nose, solar plexus, and kicking him in the knees. He went down hard, and I put him in an arm bar that dislocated his shoulder. I had him face down on the floor and slammed my elbow into the side of his head. He stopped struggling, and I rose and ran to where my mom was.

"A... Adam?" Mom lifted a hand weakly to my face.

"It's ok, mom. I'll call 911." I said it as I pulled my cellphone out of my pocket and dialed.

Mom had fallen unconscious and into a coma by the time the cops and EMTs got there. I gave my account of what had happened, and they took my parents to the hospital with my dad being guarded by the cops along the way. I followed in my car and pulled into the parking lot to park. After I was finished parking and shut down my old Civic, I followed them into the ER as they brought mom in. The doctor shooed me away and told me to have a seat in the waiting room. I found a chair and sat down in a heap. I was physically and emotionally drained.

That was where I first saw her in person. She looked like Halle Berry, and for some reason, she was in the hospital in my little town. Her skin was the color of caramel and her eyes were the softest amber-brown I had ever seen. She was wearing a gold colored tank topped leotard that showed off every curve of her gorgeous body, and I couldn't help but stare. She came over to me when she saw the situation with me accompanying my mom as my parents were being brought into the ER.

I sat in the waiting room as she walked up to me. "Hi, my name is Mari. Are you ok?"

I looked up at her. "Hey, I'm Adam. Yeah, I'm fine. My mom isn't, though."

"What happened?" She asked with a concerned look.

"My dad finally lost it on her. He beat her into a coma." I recognized her from someplace, but couldn't place it. I should have, though. I'd had a crush on her for years. That was how out of it I was at that moment. "Look, thanks and all, but do I know you from someplace? You look like Halle Berry." Then I saw the fox head pendant at her throat. "Vixen! Oh wow!"

She smiled. "Yeah, that's me." Oh my God! A member of the JLA was sitting with me in the waiting room while the doctors worked to save my mom!

"What are you even doing here? Shouldn't you be off fighting some super threat to the entire planet or something?" I laughed in spite of the situation.

She shrugged. "I tracked down Prometheus here and brought him down. He was using a warehouse on the waterfront as his headquarters. He's being checked out by the doctors before I take him back to Blackgate."

"Cool." It was all I could say.

"Who was the man they brought in at the same time as your mother?" She asked.

"My... father." It hurt to even say the word. He wasn't my father anymore, as far as I was concerned.

"Did you...?" She asked, and I just nodded with my head down.

"You might have just saved your mother's life. You are a hero, Adam." She smiled.

The JLA member that I'd had a huge crush on for years had just called me a hero. That was a new high point in my life. I smiled at her. "Thanks, Mari. You're a hell of a hero yourself. I've heard about some of the stuff you've done, and even saw one of your fights on the News."

"I have an advantage, Adam. This totem pendant gives me the abilities of the animal kingdom. What you did, you did without powers." She placed her hand on my chest. "What you did came from in here."

Her touch was like a lightning surge in my chest that spread throughout my body. That was when I made the decision that I wanted to do what she did. I wanted to fight against criminals, terrorists, and anyone else who would hurt innocents like my mom.

"Thank you, Mari. I mean it. That means a lot to me." I smiled and covered her hand with mine. I squeezed it and she smiled at me.

"Adam DeVries?" The doctor asked as he approached us. I looked up at him.

"That's me, sir. What is it? Is my mom going to be ok?" I stood up and Mari stood with me.

"Your mom is in a coma, son. I won't sugar coat it for you. Your father really hurt her. She's stable for now, though." I felt the anger burning inside me.

"What about him?" I asked through gritted teeth.

"Your father? He's conscious now and being questioned by the Police." He told me. I pushed past him and walked quickly toward where my father was laying with the cops standing over him.

"Was it worth it, Frank?" I demanded with pure hatred in my voice. "Mom's in a coma because of you! Was it worth it?" I blindly shoved Detective Reynolds out of the way and my father's good eye went wide as I slammed my fist into his face again. "Did it make you feel like a big man, Frank? Did it make you feel good to beat your wife and the mother of your son until she was nearly dead!? You sack of shit!" I raised my fist again as he raised his hands to try and stop me. I slammed my fist down again, snapping his nose. I raised my fist a third time, but a strong yet feminine hand caught mine and pulled me back away from him before the cops could intervene.

When she'd pulled me out into the hallway, I spun on her, but she spoke first. "Adam, look at me. If you take revenge on him, you would be no better than he is. Calm down and let the police do their job. Ok?"

Her words stifled the anger and I saw she was right. I took several deep breaths to calm down. "Y... yeah, Mari. Thanks. You know, you're a lot nicer than I thought you'd be." I smiled nervously.

"I'm just a regular person like you, only with superpowers." She chuckled lightly, and I laughed along with her.

"Hell, Mari, if I thought you'd accept, I'd ask you to my Senior Prom this coming Friday." Nobody was going to believe this at school.

"Who says I wouldn't accept? When is it?" She asked.

"Umm, it starts at 6:30 Friday evening. Are you serious?" I asked with an incredulous smile on my face.

"Barring an emergency that I can't otherwise avoid, I would love to go with you to your Prom, Adam." Mari smiled and kissed my cheek. "Do you have a tux already? You look to be about Dick's size. He's a friend, and if you need one, I'm sure I can get him to let you borrow one."

"Ye... yeah, I have one already." I still had my tux from the last year, and had already gotten it altered to allow for my growth since then.

"Good. I hope you know how to dance. I like a man who can dance." She grinned mischievously like a... well, a Vixen.

I COULD dance. I was actually proud of that. In addition to my father's insistence on me taking martial arts classes, my mom had insisted that I also learned to dance.

I smiled, in more familiar territory now. I was able to stop seeing the Superheroine in front of me, and just saw the lady I was going to take to Prom. Her skin tight outfit that showed off a healthy cleavage between her breasts was only a minor distraction now.

"As a matter of fact, I can dance. I just hope I meet your standards, Mari." I smiled at her.

"I get the feeling you will, sweetie." She smiled back.

"Ms... Err, Vixen?" A doctor called to her from behind her. She turned.

"Yes, doctor? Is my prisoner ready?" She asked, all business for the doctor.

"Yes, ma'am. We have him sedated still and the blindfold over his eyes as you ordered. We've checked him out, and he's ready to be taken into your custody." The doctor nodded and smiled nervously at her.

"Thank you, doctor. I'll be there in one moment." She nodded back to him, and he turned and walked back towards where the villain was being detained.

She turned back to me. "Do you have a cellphone, Adam?"

I pulled it out of my pocket and flipped it open. "Yes, ma'am. What's your number?"

She gave me her number and I programmed it in, then called her. She picked up and smiled as she saved my number in hers.

"Thanks, sweetie. I'll wait for you to call, and I will be here Friday night for our date." She leaned up and kissed me on the cheek again.

I took a chance and drew her in for a hug. "Thanks, Mari. For stopping me from doing something I would have regretted for the rest of my life, and for being here for me."

"Anytime, Adam. Don't worry about it. Now, I have to get Prometheus back to Blackgate. I'll see you Friday." She smiled as she disengaged from our hug and turned to leave.

"See you then, Mari." I smiled at her as I watched her gorgeous butt walking away. What a view! She looked back and caught me watching, but only smiled when I blushed. She winked and walked back to where her prisoner was being held for her.

I ended up staying the night in mom's hospital room. I'd heard that people in comas could hear what people said around them, so I told her about dad being arrested and about my date for Prom. I ended up falling asleep on the little couch in her room after looking at my cell phone with Vixen on speed dial with her number. I smiled in spite of the whole situation of our first meeting.

Mom was still in a coma the next morning, and I had to go home to get ready for school. I told her I loved her and would be back after school let out for the day.

I got in my car and drove home fast. I showered and changed into jeans and my Batman t-shirt. I laughed at the irony, since I had a date with one of his team mates.

I barely made it to school in time for home room.

At lunch, Kevin Reynolds sat down across from me. "Sup, Adam? I heard about your mom, man. I'm sorry."

"No prob, Kev. It's not your fault." I told him. Kev is my best friend, and his dad is a Detective with the Santa Barbara PD.

"Still, I know this sounds wrong and all, but I hope your dad goes away for a really long time." He got a look on his face that said he didn't know how I'd react.

"So do I, man. Hey, I got a date for Prom, though!" I grinned. Kevin might not believe me, but I had to tell somebody.

"Jenny?" He asked.

"No way, man. WAY hotter!" I gloated a bit.

"Yeah, right! Jenny is one of the hottest chicks in school! Who is it, then? Leah Reilly?" He asked.

"Nope. She doesn't go to our school, but you'll meet her Friday night." I smiled. "I met her at the hospital last night."

Kev's dad, the Detective, had been the one I shoved out of the way the night before so I could punch Frank in the face. He'd witnessed Vixen intervene and our talk in ER.

Kev's eyes widened as he figured it out. "NO WAY! HOLY SHIT, DUDE!" Kevin shouted loud enough to get the attention of everyone in the cafeteria.

"Keep it down, Kev! Jesus!" I snarled at him.

"Fucking A, Adam! You got a date with a fucking Superheroine and you expect me to keep quiet about it?" He was grinning ear to ear. "Larry is gonna be jealous as fuck!"

Larry, our team Quarterback and all around asshole, decided that was a great time to walk up to our table. "What the fuck are you two dorks saying about me?"

With his blonde hair and blue eyes, chiseled Superhero type features, and muscular build, Larry Bradford was what every guy wanted to look like. Well, every guy but me. I was ok with my looks, since the girls still dug me.

"Don't worry about it, Larry. Kev is just going off because I got a really hot date for Prom." I KNEW Larry wouldn't believe me.

"Yeah, Larry. Adam scored a date with a JLA member!" Kevin grinned.

"Which one? Green Arrow? I heard he's as gay as you are." Larry laughed, and I laughed with him. Everybody knew I was straight, but with as many people as Larry accused of being gay, I was getting the feeling he had some latent tendencies.

"Shit, Larry. Everyone knows Green Arrow is married to Black Canary!" Kev educated our idiot friend. "Besides, my bro here scored a Prom Date with Vixen!"

"Bullshit!" Larry's eyes went as wide as Kev's had a few moments earlier.

I felt my phone buzz in my pocket and checked my texts. 'Looking forward to our date Friday. Might bring a few friends. Love, V' I grinned.

"What is it?" Kev asked, nodding at my phone. I showed him. "Whhhaaaaaattt?! Bring a few friends? Holy shit! I hope she brings Zatanna!"

Larry grabbed my phone and looked. His jaw hit the floor. "No fucking way, dingletard! No way in hell is that real!"

I snatched my phone back. "You'll find out Friday night, dipshit."

Larry just shook his head. "Whatever. I'm going with Rachel, so I'm gonna have the hottest girl there. Have fun with your cosplayer girlfriend, loser." He laughed it off and walked away.

I thought of my mom and called the hospital.

"Santa Barbara General, how can I direct your call?"

"Yes, I'm Adam DeVries and my mom Lynnette DeVries was brought in last night in a coma. Is there any change? Did she wake up yet?" I asked, hopefully.

"One moment, sir." She put me on hold.

"I hope she's ok, man." Kev patted my shoulder.

"Same here, brother." I nodded and smiled at my best bud.

"Hey, if you aren't gonna ask Jenny..." Kev grinned.

"Go for it, man. Good luck!" I punched him in the shoulder, and he went to find the girl of his, and used to be my, dreams. I now had a date with one of my dream girls.

The receptionist came back on. "I'm sorry, sir. The doctor reports no change in her condition."

I choked up a bit, but recovered. "Thank you, ma'am. I'll try back later." I ended the call, then brought up my texts and hit Reply to Vixen. 'Looking forward to it here, too. May need a date for my buddy Kev. He asked if you could bring Zatanna for him. Lol :)' I hit Send.

My phone buzzed about thirty seconds later. I flipped it open. 'I'll ask her. One moment'

'Cool thanks!' I sent back.

A few minutes passed, and Kev got back with a rueful smirk on his face. "No dice, man. Shot down in a blaze of glory once again!"

"Hang on, Kev." My phone had buzzed again.

'Z says sure. She'll be there with me.' I grinned.

'Thanks, V. I was joking, but thanks! Kev will appreciate it too' Sent.

I then showed Kevin the texts, and he just about shit himself.

"Wow, man. I... I don't know what to say." Kevin was speechless for the first time in his life.

Kevin's not a bad looking guy from what the girls have told me. He's a bit on the geeky side for most girls, though. I somehow had a feeling that the Mistress of Magic would either love him or turn him into a toad. I was leaning towards the latter outcome.

"Just do me a favor and keep it on the DL, ok?" I asked.

"Yeah, man. No problem. Larry is gonna eat his own leg off Friday night, though." Kevin grinned like the Cheshire Cat.

"Good!" I said, then flipped my phone open again.

'Will you meet me at the school or come over to my house first so I can drive you?' I sent.

'What's your address sweetie?' I got back in less than a minute.

I sent her my address and she sent back 'kk see you Friday at 6!'

"I wonder what kind of dress she'll wear. Probably something magical." Kevin was already daydreaming about his date.

"Dude, don't worry about it. Just come over to my place Friday after school with your tux. The ladies are meeting us there at 6:00 pm." I showed him the texts.

"Sweet!" He replied with another grin.

The rest of the day went as usual, with my mind mostly on mom, some on my date Friday, and some on school itself.

When class let out, Kev went with me to the hospital to see my mom.

We got to her room and sat beside her bed. "Mom, Kev is here too. We're both hoping you get better quick."

"Yeah, Mrs. D. My dad told me about what happened. Don't worry, Frank's going away for a long time." Kevin added.

"Hey, guys. I need to talk to you both." Kev's dad, Detective Mitch Reynolds said from the doorway in a voice just above a whisper.

"Sure, dad. C'mon, Adam." Kev got up and I squeezed mom's hand once before following.

Once out in the hall, Mr. Reynolds looked at me. "Adam, I'm not sure how to tell you this, but your father is dead. I'm sorry, son."

It was both a shock and a relief. "What? How?" I asked.

"Apparently he was bragging to some of the other inmates about what he'd done, and they shanked him on the recreation yard." He shrugged. "It happened at County after we sent him there."

That would have been just like ol' Frank. Running his mouth about beating his wife nearly to death. Served him right!
"Serves him right." I growled. I'd never liked my father. He'd been a decent provider, but he'd always had a history of verbal abuse towards me and mom. I looked at the shock on Mr. Reynolds' face. "What? He was an asshole who used to rail my mom endlessly over little shit. I'm surprised he never hit her before, more than anything. He's always had a temper, and was even worse when he drank. I'm not sorry he's dead." I meant every word of it, too.

Mr. Reynolds nodded. "I understand, son. I just hope your mom takes it as well as you are."

"Hell of a week, Adam." Kev said and clapped his hand on my shoulder.

"Yeah. Mom's in a coma, but at least dad won't be able to hurt her again, and we've got two hot dates for Prom." I laughed ironically.

"Oh? You found a date, Kevin?" Mr. Reynolds asked his son.

"Well, more like Adam found me a date. He asked his date if she had any friends who might be willing to go with me." Kev blushed even as he grinned ear to ear.

Mr. Reynolds chuckled. "You mean you're both going to Prom with Superheroines?"

"Unless there's an alien invasion or something, it looks that way, sir." I smiled and shrugged. "Vixen is bringing Zatanna as Kev's date."

"I've had a crush on her for years, dad." Kev grinned.

The rest of the afternoon and evening went with me and Kev sitting by mom's bedside most of the night. Mari and I texted back and forth for a while, joking around. I read the texts to mom, hoping something would get through to her. I texted Mari with where I was, and about an hour later, she showed up.

"Hi, Adam. How is she?" Her voice caught me by surprise. I looked up and smiled.

"Hey, Mari. No change yet." I stood as she came over and hugged me. She was dressed in civilian clothes, but Kev was hyperventilating upon seeing her.

"Mari, the hypervent there is my best bud Kevin. Kevin, this is Mari, AKA Vixen." I introduced them, and she smiled at Kev. Kevin got his breathing under control and shook her hand.

She thought for a moment. "I'll be right back." She stepped out into the hall and pulled out what I thought was her cellphone at first, until I saw the JLA logo emblazoned on it. She talked for a moment, then hung up and came back in. We all sat at mom's bedside talking about what had happened. Detective Reynolds came back in shortly afterwards and stopped dead as his eyebrows hit his hairline.

"Vixen, this is Detective Reynolds, Kev's dad." I introduced them too.

"Ma'am, it's a pleasure to meet you." Mr. Reynolds said with a smile.

"Likewise, Detective." She smiled back, then sat back down by me.

He turned to Kevin. "Come on, Kev. Your mom has dinner waiting on us."

That was when a soft pink flash of light happened outside the room and a lady in top hat, topcoat with tails, and fishnet mesh leggings came into the room. "Is this the place?" She asked with an impish smile.

"Zee, this is Adam, my date for Friday night, and this is Kevin. He'll be your date to their Senior Prom. And that's Detective Reynolds, Kevin's father." Vixen said.

Zatanna shook Mr. Reynolds' hand and smiled. "Pleased to meet you, Detective."

Kevin looked like he was either going to come in his pants, pass out, or both. He rallied himself and stood slowly, holding out his hand. "Hi, I'm Kevin." He introduced himself.

When she shook his hand, he raised it to his lips and kissed it. "Oooh, a gentleman. A pleasure to meet you, Kevin." Zatanna blushed!

"The pleasure is all mine, Zatanna." Kevin said with more gallantry than I knew he possessed. I nodded in respect for his ability to NOT make a complete ass of himself.

"Sorry, ladies. I hate to break this up, but Kev and I really need to get home. My wife has dinner ready." Mr. Reynolds said as he shook their hands.

"Sorry, Detective. We won't keep you." Zatanna smiled at him.

Mr. Reynolds nearly had to drag Kevin out of the room, leaving just me and the two most beautiful members of the JLA in my mom's hospital room.

"Ladies, this is my mom, Lynnette. She can't really say anything right now, but hopefully she'll be up and around soon." I smiled at them both.

Mom loves Superheroes. I told Mari and Zatanna, who insisted I call her Zee, about mom's huge crush on Superman. They laughed quietly at that.

Zatanna noticed my Batman t-shirt and laughed with a smile. "If he only knew what kind of fans he's inspired."

"Huh?" I asked. Yeah, real intelligent sounding, right?

"Mari told us all how you took down your father who had been beating your mom. When he found out about the injuries you inflicted, Bats said 'He must have some skill', so you've just impressed one of the best martial artists on Earth." Zee said.

I blinked at that and swelled with pride. "Wow. You're not shi... kidding me, are you?" I censored myself in front of the two Paragons of Justice in my presence.

"No, Adam. Zee isn't kidding. He really did say that." Mari squeezed my hand, which I realized she'd been holding for a few minutes now.

"Well, from what Mr. Reynolds told me earlier, my dad won't be hurting anyone else ever again. Some inmates at County didn't take kindly to him bragging about beating up my mom." I informed them. They started to say how sorry they were, but I stopped them. "No, please. It's honestly a relief that he's gone. He verbally abused mom and me for years. I'm just surprised that he didn't lay a hand on mom before last night."

"It's still a horrible thing to happen, Adam." Mari said. I knew deep down that she was right, but it still felt like justice to me.

I just nodded and smiled at her sadly. She squeezed my hand again and smiled back.

The rest of the week went by pretty fast. Wednesday I went to Jiu Jitsu class again before heading to the Hospital to see mom. Once again Mari came over from the East Coast, after me texted her with mom's status. Mom still wasn't awake yet, but her injuries were starting to look better. Her eyes were still swollen badly, but the bruising had started to go down.

Thursday afternoon was when mom woke up. I heard her moan and called for the doctor. He came running in as mom opened one of her eyes. A nurse ushered me out of the room while the doc performed the standard checks, and I saw mom wave at me with a weak smile when she saw me. I went back in after the doctor said it was ok.

I texted Mari to tell her mom was awake, and soon she showed up in civvies again.

"Thank you, sweetie." Mom squeezed my hand as I sat on the edge of her bed.

"I wish I'd been there sooner, mom. I got home and he'd already been beating on you for a while. I'm sorry." I said. I hadn't been there, but at least I'd been there in time to save her life.

"It's ok, hon. I'm just glad you're ok, and that you got him to stop." Mom said, patting my hand on hers.

"Umm, hi. Mrs. DeVries?" Mari said as she poked her head in. Mom squinted at her.

"Yes, I am. Are you Halle Berry?" Mom asked.

"Mom, this is Mari. Mari, this is my mom. Mari's my date for Prom on Friday night." I introduced them, and Mari came into the room.

"Mrs. DeVries, I've talked to Su...a coworker of mine that Adam here says you have a crush on, and he's agreed to come over as soon as he's finished dealing with something work-related." She had to change what she was going to say as the nurse walked in to record mom's vitals from the machine.

As the nurse left and the door closed behind her, Mari said "Superman is coming to visit you, ma'am."

Mom's eyes opened at that.

"Mom, Mari is Vixen, and she's a member of the Justice League." I told her.

Mom started laughing until she winced in pain. "You mean she isn't Halle Berry?"

I laughed. "No, mom. I made that mistake at first, too. Halle Berry could play her in a movie, though."

"I don't see the resemblance, myself." Mari shrugged.

"Take it as a compliment, dear." Mom patted her hand. "Adam has had a crush on you and Halle Berry for as long as I can remember."

"Mom!" She just had to tell my Prom Date about my celebrity crushes. Yeah, not fun.

It was a hell of a way to introduce my Mom to my Prom Date.

Mari just grinned and walked over to the window when I thought I caught a flash of blue or red out the corner of my eye. She unlatched it and slid it open, and Big Blue himself stepped through and into my mom's hospital room.

I thought mom was going to have a heart attack when she saw him smiling at her and walking to her bedside. "Mrs. DeVries? I'm Kal-El of Krypton. Mari told me what happened to you, and I just wanted to say that your son is the real hero here. He saved your life when none of us could." He sat down in the chair next to mom, who was now blushing profusely.

"S... S... Superman?? It's a pleasure to meet you!" Mom said and reached up to hug him.

"It's my pleasure, ma'am." He hugged mom back gently.

"Wow!" I still couldn't believe it. In this world I live in, with all the weirdness in day to day life, and I still couldn't believe it! Superman was in my mom's hospital room and I was going to Prom with Vixen!

He heard me and turned to smile at me. "And there's the young man who could give Batman himself the fight of his life." He stood up and shook my hand. "It's an honor to meet you, Adam."

"S...Same here, sir." I said.

"I'm sorry to cut this short Ma'am, but I have to get back." He smiled at us both and leapt out the window and flew off to the east.

"Whoever he's going to save is very lucky." Mom said dreamily.

Mari laughed at that. "I think we're the lucky ones, Mrs. DeVries. Adam is your son and my Prom Date."

Mom chuckled and looked sleepy. "Mom, we're going to go for a little while. We should let you rest." I said and squeezed mom's hand.

"Ok, dear. You two lovebirds have fun." Mom smiled at us.

"Thanks, mom." I replied as we slipped out of her room and walked towards the elevators. We went down to the lobby and out into the warm spring air of the April night.

"Thanks, Mari. I'm not sure exactly why you did all this, but thank you for being my Prom Date and even getting Superman to visit mom." I had both of her hands in mine as we faced each other.

"I did it because I never got to go to Prom while in High School, and because I really like and respect you." She hugged me and kissed my cheek again. I held her close and felt her body pressed to mine.

"You respect me?" I was almost knocked senseless.

"You stood up against evil to protect the innocent. That's what makes a hero a hero. Not superpowers. Not gadgets. It takes heart, sweetie." She once again put her hand on my chest, and her touch felt warm.

I leaned down and kissed her tentatively on her full lips. It was just a kiss, but she moaned softly as I kissed her. She broke it after several long moments. "I have to go, sweetie. I'll see you tomorrow night, ok?" She said with a smile before kissing me back.

This time her lips parted, as did mine, and our tongues slowly danced together. I kept my eyes open and on her lovely face as we kissed, and I noticed her eyes were on me too. We both wanted to remember this. Her hand came up to the back of my neck as our tongues caressed each other.

We finally broke the kiss. "Ok, Mari. I can't wait. I'm going to have the most beautiful woman on my arm at Prom!" I grinned sheepishly and blushed. I was now rock hard thinking about what might possibly happen on Prom Night.

She called upon some bird's power and took to the sky. She blew me a kiss and grinned as she waved. I waved back, and she flew out of sight.

I sprinted back inside and slowed down when I got near the elevators. When I got back to mom's room, I was still grinning like the Cheshire Cat. Mom saw my expression and grinned. "She kissed you, didn't she?" Mom said. It wasn't a question.

"How did you know, mom?" I asked.

"The last time you grinned like that was after you kissed Gina Harkin after Homecoming last year." Mom knew my expressions.

"Yeah, mom. She kissed me after I kissed her. She is a GREAT kisser!" I exclaimed.

Mom laughed. "She's what? Ten years older than you?"

"So? I like her. She's a genuine person, not some stuck-up celebrity." I told her all that had happened, and how we'd met in the first place.

"She seems sweet, hon." Mom said.

"She is, mom. She didn't have to come over and see how I was doing after you got brought in. She didn't have to accept my invitation to Prom. She didn't have to call Superman to come visit you. She didn't have to come in and visit with us during the week. She didn't have to set Kevin up with Zatanna. But she did all that because she is a good person. I know that after tomorrow night, I'll probably never see her again, but I'll have the memories of this week, both good and bad, for the rest of my life." I told mom evenly how I felt with a smile on my face.

"You're right, Adam. She is sweet." Mom smiled at the remembered hug from her Superhero crush. "So is Kal-El."

"Calling him by name now, mom?" I grinned.

"It's how he introduced himself, hon." Mom reasoned. She had a point.

"Mom, about Frank..." I started. I had to tell her.

"What about him?" Mom's voice went cold.

"Mr. Reynolds told me earlier that he's dead thanks to some inmates at County that shanked him when he bragged about beating you into a coma." I blurted it out in a rush.

Mom closed her eyes for a bit, then opened them and smiled at me sadly. "Is it wrong to say that I feel relieved?"

"No, mom. I feel the same way about it. I love you." I said and hugged her.

"I love you too, honey. Now get home and get some sleep. You do have school tomorrow before Prom, after all. I want pictures!" Mom ordered.

"Yes, mom. We're going to have a lot of pics for you on Saturday." I promised.

We said our goodbyes and I drove home. My head was spinning with what all had happened that week, and the week wasn't even over yet.

At school the next morning, word had apparently gotten around about what had happened at home on Monday and at the Hospital during the week. Larry was looking at me like he wanted to kill me, which was fine. He'd tried taking me during freshman year, and had failed miserably. I could handle Larry. Everyone else was giving me friendly nods and greetings, and treating me with more respect than I was used to.

I ran into Kevin at lunch and asked if he knew what was going on.

"Dude, Stacy Kendall's mom is a nurse at the Hospital, and saw Superman fly into your mom's room! That's all anybody knows for sure, though. They still don't know who my date is." He grinned.

"Thanks, man. I think Larry knows I was telling the truth the other day. He was glaring daggers at me earlier." I chuckled.

My phone buzzed with a text. I flipped it open and read 'can't wait for tonight, Adam. Got our dresses ready. See you at 6. Love, V'

I showed the text to Kev, and he just grinned and nodded. "Awwww, yeah! Man, it's gonna be hard keeping my cool around Zee."

"Hey, how do you think I feel? I've been in love with Vixen for forever." It had only been a few years, but it seemed like forever.

We laughed about that and went about our day. When school let out, it was time to go home to get ready. I picked up Mari's corsage for her before I went home, and threw it in the fridge once I was there.

By the time I had finished shitting, showering, shaving and had my tux on, it was 5:30. Half an hour until show time. I checked my look and decided I could be a young James Bond or maybe even Bruce Wayne. I looked enough like him, judging by the pics I've seen and his News interviews. I just don't have near as much money as he does. I opened the front door but left the screen door latched at about 5:45. It was a beautiful spring evening, and the weather was warm.

I was nervous as hell, so I did a quick kata to calm myself down. It helped, even though I had to pick a simple one because my tux kept me from full range of motion. Yeah, I was nervous.

I got the corsage out of the refrigerator at t-minus ten minutes and let it sit on the counter. I went back to pacing and calming my nerves. Then I remembered to call the limo! I dialed and they said they would be here in five minutes. Sweet! I had saved up from my weekend job for this night. Even if I'd had to go stag, I was not going to miss my Senior Prom!

I saw the flutter of her red gown outside the door as she landed, I ran and opened it for her in as she approached the door. Mari looked breathtakingly beautiful in her strapped backless red evening gown. Just behind her I saw the lights on Kev's car as he pulled into the driveway by mine. Then the pink flash of Zatanna appearing outside as Mari and Kev came in.

Kev held the door for Zee as I picked up the corsage and pinned it on Mari's dress. "You look beautiful, Mari." I kissed her gloved hand and admired her choice of evening gown. It showed off just enough cleavage and back to be sexy without being slutty.

"Thank you, kind sir." She curtsied as I bowed.

Kev was giving Zee her corsage too, and it seemed to be going well. Kev had yet to lose his cool, which gave me hope for him yet. Zee was wearing your basic strapless black evening gown with a slit up to mid-thigh. Very understated, yet she looked great in it, and as I'm sure Kev was hoping, would look great bunched up on the floor of his room after Prom was over.

I took Mari in my arms and kissed her cheek softly just as we heard the car horn from outside. The limo was here.

"Our chariot awaits, ladies and... Kev." I motioned for us to head outside, and they all gasped at the stretch limo I'd rented.

"Wow, Adam! You went all out!" Mari exclaimed.

"You deserve the best, Mari. This might not be the best, but it's the best I could afford with my job." I shrugged and smiled.

"It's perfect, sweetie." She replied and kissed me as she squeezed my hand.

We left the house and I locked the door behind us as we all went down to the limo. The chauffeur held the door for us, and smiled as we all entered. He knew where to go, so once we were all seated by our respective dates, he drove us to our school basketball court/pep rally room/dance hall.

We arrived and Kev and I stepped out first to get the door for our dates. Kev gave Jenny a shit eatin' grin as she recognized his date for the night, and her jaw dropped open.

Zee, for her part, looked to be thoroughly enjoying Kev's company. She had both of her arms holding his right arm as they strolled in and were announced by the MC, who had to get her name from Kev. "Ladies and Gentlemen, Kevin Reynolds and his date for the evening, Zatanna Zatara."

Kevin and Zee were both smiling, as she would tell us later, she'd also never attended her Prom.

Mari and I went in right behind them, and I gave the MC her name. "Ladies and Gentlemen, presenting Adam DeVries and his date for the evening, Vixen." More applause from our friends and classmates. More dirty looks from the popular girls who had turned Kev and me down as dates to Prom. Larry stood with mouth open, just inviting the flies in.

Once inside, we found the photographer and had some wallets and larger sized photos ordered. Kev wanted one poster size of him and Zee where she was puckering her lips while giving a sultry face for the camera and had her hand on one hip while her other was around his waist. She hammed it up for the camera, and it came out perfect. We paid the cameraman and he confirmed our orders to be delivered by Email in the morning, and Kev's poster by FedEx within the next 3 to 5 business days.

We then made our way to the punch bowl and made sure we got some cups full before the jocks decided to spike it. Last year's Junior Prom had been a drunk fest because of that, and I didn't want it to happen tonight.

I noticed a guy in a tux that looked to be about my size with longish black hair and blue eyes nearly the same shade as mine. Mari smiled when she saw him and the beautiful wheelchair-bound redhead he was with.
"They let you two chaperone?" Mari grinned as they came over to us.

"Yeah, we kinda convinced them, being friends of Adam here and replacing his mom and... Frank as Chaperones. We have good resumes." The man said, then looked at me. "You must be Adam. I'm Dick Grayson." He held out his hand.

I shook it. "Thank you, sir. You guys are friends of Mari and Zee too?" I asked.

"You might say that. Professional colleagues as well. Besides, Dick promised me a night at the ball." The lady in the wheelchair said. "I'm Barbara Gordon." She said.

We shook her hand too, and Kev and I were both wondering what their superhero identities were.

While Kev and Zatanna walked out to dance to a fast hip-hop song, I figured out who they were. I had followed Superheroes for as long as I'd been alive. "Nightwing and the first Batgirl." I said with a smile.

Dick started at that, but there was no denying it. I recognized the hair. By extrapolation, it was easy to figure out Batman's identity. "Don't worry, guys. I'm not gonna spill. I'm a fan of Superheroes, and of Vixen in particular." I shrugged.

"So if you figured out who we are, you probably know who Batman is, too." Dick said. Yeah, he's a detective, just like Bruce Wayne.

"Yeah. Deduction and extrapolation made it obvious." I shrugged. A waltz started playing. "Mari, would you like to dance?"

"I would love to, Adam." She replied as she reached for my offered hand. I led her to the dance floor and we danced together for what seemed like ages, but was over far too quickly.

Kev and I introduced our dates to our friends, but didn't introduce our guest 'chaperones', just in case. I wasn't kidding about keeping their IDs secret.

When the slow dances began, Mari and I were inseparable on the dance floor. "Thank you, Adam." She said in a whisper while we danced cheek to cheek.

"I should be the one thanking you." I replied with honesty. "You are the most beautiful lady in the room."

"This is the most wonderful evening I've had in a very long time, sweetie." She said. "I'm glad I'm spending it with you."

"I'm more than glad I'm spending it with you too, Mari. You're so beautiful, it's a wonder you don't already have a boyfriend." I blushed.

"I do, Adam. I'm dancing with him right now." She pulled back and gave me a pouty look. "Unless you don't want me as your girlfriend?"

I nearly shouted, but kept my voice low at the last second. "Yes, Mari. I do." I smiled and she kissed me lovingly, tenderly, and passionately. Our tongues explored each other's mouths and our bodies molded together as her beautiful breasts crushed into my chest.

"Nobody invited us? We're crushed!" The voice came from behind me as the doors smashed inwards. "Come on, Richie Riches. Cough up the goodies, and you all get to leave with your lives."

"Royal Flush Gang, sweetie. Let me, Dick, and Zee handle this." Mari whispered in my ear.

"I can help, Mari. Trust me." I whispered back.

"You're a civilian, Adam."

"So? You were too, once. So was Zee. I have enough training and experience to take on non-powered bad guys, at the very least." I told her. "Five black belts in five different martial arts. The latest being Jiu Jitsu."

"Ok, take down ten. He's heading this way. Be careful, baby." She said, kissed me, and then leapt at the Ace.

I turned around and saw the Ten right beside me as he watched Mari fly at the Ace, too dumbstruck to even aim his gun at her. He'd been aiming it at Larry, who WAS a Richie Rich, as they put it. I tapped Ten on the shoulder and he turned to look. A quick jab to the nose followed by a straight punch to the solar plexus knocked him off his hovering card. I put him in an arm bar and dislocated his right shoulder and elbow, forcing the gun from his hand. I picked up his weapon and ejected the magazine, then racked the slide to eject the bullet. I slipped the weapon in the back of my belt, and the magazine and ejected round went into my pocket. I put my knee in his back to help hold him down and turned to watch the show.

".mih dloh dna kcaJ eht erutpaC" Zee said, speaking her spell backwards, and the Jack was caught in a web of pure energy, completely immobilized. I looked over at Barbara and... Dick? Where'd he go? Ah, he must have snuck off to change. Yep, there he goes.

Nightwing swung in from the rafters and knocked the King off his card with a thrown batarang. He then caught the King on the way down and immobilized him with some black zip cuffs before depositing him on the floor.

Having disabled the Ace, Vixen jumped at the Queen, who was firing wildly at Zee, but her shots were absorbed by a magic shield around Kev's date. My date knocked the Queen off her card and flattened her on the hardwood floor. One solid punch to the jaw, and the Queen was down for the count.

Nightwing threw black zip cuffs to Vixen, Zee, and me. I grinned as I zipped the Ten's arms behind his back, making sure the cuffs were good and snug. I picked him up by his good arm and walked him over to where his buddies were standing.

"Good job, Adam." Nightwing said.

"Thanks, man." What else was I gonna say?

The whole place erupted in applause, mostly for Vixen and Zee, who saved all our Richie Rich friends from getting robbed. While Kev and I weren't that rich, a lot of our classmates were.

Our Principal, Mrs. Hendricks, came forward and looked at us all. "Adam, are you some kind of Superhero now?"

"No, Mrs. Hendricks. I just have a few of them as friends." I shrugged.

"Well, I'm glad you kept everyone safe... Nightwing, is it? And Vixen and Zatanna? You are all heroes." She said with a big smile, then looked at me walleyed before walking back to where the other chaperones were waiting.

"Krav Maga and Jiu Jitsu?" Nightwing asked me in a whisper.

"Yep." I said. He noticed the way I punched Ten's clock.

"Nice." He nodded.

"Thanks. It was best for the situation." I shrugged again.

"Sorry, guys. We hate to break this up, but we need to get these idiots up to the Satellite." Vixen said. "Adam, you're coming too. This is partially your collar." She winked at me. OH MY GOD! I was going up to the JLA Satellite?!

"I'd be happy to help, Vixen." I grinned and winked back at her.

Barbara was sitting in her wheelchair and grinning at Nightwing. "Hey, you guys take this one, and tell Batman I'll be back in Gotham in a few hours." He handed off the King to me.

"Ok, Nightwing. Thanks for the assist." Zee said with a smile.

"No problem. I was in the neighborhood and saw them flying in." He lied, and was damn good at it. Years and years of practice, apparently.

Once we were all inside the range of Vixen's transporter beacon, I waved at everyone as we vanished from the dance floor.

I felt disoriented at first, and my eyes crossed when I tried to focus. I shook my head and my vision cleared.

"Are you ok, son? It's hell, the first time through." Green Arrow asked me.

"Y... yes, sir. Good to go now." I replied.

He took Ten into custody from me and Black Canary took King. "Good. You helped out a lot down there." He smiled and nodded as he took the guy and marched him towards one of their holding cells. I looked out the window and my jaw fell open as my eyes widened. There was Earth slowly spinning below us.

"Quite a view, isn't it?" Mari asked me as she took my arm.

"Yeah, it's spectacular!" I said, then turned to look at her. She was smiling. "But not as spectacular as you in that dress."

She blushed at that, then kissed me softly. I returned her kiss, then heard a growling voice behind me. "You must be Adam DeVries." I broke the kiss and turned to look at the cowled visage of the Dark Knight himself.

"Oh wow..." was all I could say.

"You're armed." He said simply. "I'll take it off your hands."

"Yes, sir. Sorry, sir." I'd completely forgotten about the gun I took off of Ten when I'd apprehended him. I pulled the gun slowly from the back of my belt and the magazine and formerly chambered round from my pocket and handed them to him. "Ten was carrying these, sir."

He took the items from me with a scowl. "I will enter these into evidence. Nightwing already contacted me about you. You used Krav Maga and Jiu Jitsu to subdue Ten... Not bad for an amateur."

Before I could say something, Mari intervened on my behalf. "Bats, can't you let me have him to myself for now?" Mari asked.

I couldn't resist what I said next. It was too much of a temptation. "Mr. Wayne, it's an honor to meet you, sir." I stuck out my hand. He looked at it, and I almost detected a hint of surprise in his face. Almost. "Sir, your secrets are safe with me. You have my word on that. I deduced and extrapolated from when I figured out that Dick and Barbara were Nightwing and the former Batgirl, and that they were both friends of Zee and Mari."

Now I did see surprise in his face. "You can fight, and you have some detective skills." He complimented me without seeming to. His tone was still in the derisive range.

"I guess." I shrugged, a bit embarrassed.

"Carry on." He said and turned to walk away, his long midnight blue cape flowing behind him.

"He likes you, Adam." Mari whispered.

"How can you tell?" I asked.

"He didn't demand that you leave, he didn't deny his real identity, and he didn't knock you out cold. He's going to start a file on you, though." She said with a shrug.

"A file?" I asked, raising my eyebrow.

"Yeah. He has one on all of us, just in case we go rogue. Bruce plans for every contingency." She shrugged. "Don't take it personally, baby."

"Umm, ok." I was way out of my depth here, and now Batman was going to start a file on me? I felt like Public Enemy #1 and I wasn't even doing anything wrong!

Mari grinned. "Don't worry, baby. Now kiss me, please."

I was more than happy to comply with her request, and kissed her lovingly, our tongues dancing together slowly. I broke the kiss after a few moments.

"Do you have any music aboard, sweetheart?" I asked her. "I would love to dance with you under the stars."

"Oh, I think we might have a few songs in our database." She grinned. She led me down the steps to the large floor of their command center. She started a song playing on the main console.

I looked around and noticed that nobody else was here.

"I asked them to give us some privacy." She explained. "Zee is going to transport back down to see Kev once the prisoners are processed."

"Sounds good to me. So I get you all to myself for a while?" I asked with a grin.

"Mmhmm. And I get you all to myself, too." She winked.

We danced close, her arms around my neck as my hands went to the small of her back, feeling the skin under her backless nightgown. We danced and held each other. "If you want, I could give you a tour of our station." She said as the song ended. "I'd like to show you around." Her smile was promising.

"I think I'd like that, Mari." I smiled and kissed her passionately. She returned my kiss deeply, our tongues dueling. Her arms tightened, bringing our bodies even closer together.

We came up for air after several long minutes, and I knew she had felt my hard cock against her stomach.

"This way, baby. The tour is cancelled for now, but I have someplace to show you!" She said breathlessly as she led me towards an elevator. Once we were inside, she hit the button for the next level up, where we got off and she led me to a door. She pressed in her code and it slid open for us, sliding closed after we entered the darkened room. She hit a light switch and the dim light showed a queen size bed with some African tapestries hanging from the walls around the room.

"Inviting me to your room on Prom night, sweetheart?" I asked, nervous now.

"As a matter of fact, I hear this is a tradition on Prom night, baby. Are you nervous?" She asked with an impish smile.

"Umm, I, well... yeah. I mean I've... umm, never... umm, you know..." Jesus, I was babbling like an idiot.

Mari hugged me close. "It's ok, baby. I think I know why, and I would love for you to make love to me tonight. I want to be your first."

She knew. Well, it didn't take the World's Greatest Detective to figure it out. It wasn't that I'd never had the opportunity before. I was just waiting on the right girl. Right there and then, Mari was the Right Girl.

"I want you to be my first, Mari." I admitted, blushing like mad and breathing heavily.

"Shhh. It's ok, baby." She slowly undid my bow tie and unbuttoned my dress shirt. I undid my tux jacket buttons and slipped it off down my arms and threw it on the desk. She threw my dress shirt after it and removed my t-shirt over my head.

I reached up around and pulled her dress straps off her shoulders and slipped them down her long toned arms, revealing her caramel colored breasts and chocolate brown nipples. She moaned as I leaned down, bringing my lips to her beautiful breasts. I licked around each nipple and lost myself in the moment, suckling each one to her appreciative moans. Her dress slid the rest of the way down her legs over her beautiful butt and hips. She undid the fly on my pants as I kicked off my dress shoes. My tux pants fell around my ankles and I stepped out of them. She maneuvered us around so we could sit on her bed.

I looked into her eyes. "Mari, I... I..." I trailed off as she put a finger to my lips, then replaced it with her mouth. I managed to kick off my dress socks and then wrapped my arms around her waist as hers went around my neck again.

She ran her hand over my crotch as we kissed, feeling my hard throbbing cock. She moaned again as she ran her hand over the length still in my boxers.

We rolled together onto her bed, kissing lovingly and tenderly. She nipped playfully at my neck, as if marking me as her own. She grinned at my surprised look, then slipped her panties off over her luscious butt and down her long sexy legs. She was completely shaved over her bare pussy, and my mouth started watering as my breathing became heavy. She then removed my boxers, freeing my cock from its confines.

She straddled my waist, and I could see the gleam of her pussy juices wet between her labia. "Are you ready, baby?" She asked with a seductive smile.

I smiled at her. "More than ready, sweetheart."

She put the head of my cock in between her pussy lips, and sank down on me slowly, holding my eyes with hers the entire way down. She moaned as I penetrated her all the way to her core, and I moaned as the best sensation in the universe enveloped my hard throbbing member inside her. I let out a shuddering sigh as she started moving slowly on top of me. She leaned forward, propping herself on her hands to either side of my head, putting her breasts in perfect range of my mouth. I licked and sucked each of her erect nipples as she moved slowly on top of me. I could feel her getting wetter and tighter around me as she sped up a bit.

"Oh God, Mari! That feels so good!" I moaned out loud. I was struggling not to come, and losing the battle slowly but surely.

"I'm so close, baby. God, you're big!" She exclaimed. I'd never measured it, but I would take her word for it! I was already on top of the world, both figuratively and literally!

She started rising up and plunging back down on me, and I grabbed her hips. As I clocked her rhythm, I matched her thrust for thrust until she cried out. "OH GOD I'M COMING, ADAM!" She screamed and I felt her tighten up around me. I felt the tingling and tightening of my balls, and felt the hot cum boiling up from inside me.

"I... I'm gonna come, Mari!" I shouted just before I released. She slammed down on me, taking me all the way inside her as I exploded. My boiling cum blasted into her over and over and over and over.

"YEEEESSSS, BABY! COME IN ME! COME INSIDE ME, ADAM!!" She screamed again as she took all I had to offer, and it set off another orgasm that rocketed through her. She collapsed on my chest as I came down too. I wrapped my arms around her back and held her to me, still joined with her and still throbbing hard inside her.

Her breathing was as heavy as mine. I felt like I'd just run wind sprints for a mile.

As we recovered, we kissed each other tenderly. "It's been far too long since I've had a night like this, baby." Mari whispered with a satisfied smile on her face.

"I'm glad you were my first, Mari. Other than those Royal Flush idiots, tonight has been perfect." I grinned at her and kissed her again.

Mari's cell buzzed at the same time mine did. "Must be Zee and Kevin." Mari laughed. She slowly slipped off of me and reached for her phone. I had softened a little, so I got up and grabbed my phone from the tux jacket pocket before returning to the bed. I opened it and sure enough, Kev's message was in my in-box. I opened it and laughed.

"Here, baby. Check out what Zee wrote!" She giggled. I looked and saw 'WOW!' was the only word she sent.

I checked mine. 'Holy god she's awesome'. I showed it to Mari, who laughed even more.

I sent back. 'So is Mari. She took my cherry' I showed it to her before I sent it, and she blushed.

"Aww, baby." She kissed me deeply.

She then showed me her reply to Zee. 'Adam is all that, the bag of chips, and the salsa'. It was my turn to blush.

"I wonder if they're laying naked in bed sending these texts to us, too." I grinned.

"Probably. It has been a long time for Zee also, from what she has said. Besides, it IS Prom Night." She winked at me.

I called the limo service and told them to cancel the rest of the night, if the driver hadn't gotten tired of waiting already. I was very surprised that Dick Grayson had picked up the limo tab for me. I was only slightly surprised that the JLA Satellite had Wi-Fi and cell signal capability, but it made sense.

We stayed most of the night in her room, and she taught me a lot of things about how to make love to a woman.

We fell asleep somewhere after midnight, and woke up spooned together with me behind her. We 'beamed down' after we got dressed. I put my tux back on, and Mari got some civvies for herself. Jeans and a t-shirt. When we got back into the command center from the elevator, Green Arrow and Black Canary turned to look at us. Arrow gave me a thumbs up, and Canary just smiled knowingly. I blushed like a freaking tomato, as did Mari. We walked as quickly as possible while still trying to retain our dignity to the transporter pods.

She beamed us down to my front door. I unlocked it and we went inside and up to my room. Once in my room, I shed my tux and hung it up. I'd have to take it to the cleaners sometime in the near future. As I stripped down to my boxers, I felt Mari press herself to my back.

"We used my bed last night, baby. How about your bed this morning?" She kissed the side of my neck.

"God yes, Mari!" I turned in her arms and undressed her very quickly.

We made love again that morning, and then showered together. I remembered the pics from the night before, after our shower, and opened my email account. Sure enough, they were there! I put some glossy paper in my printer and printed them up so we could show mom.

Once we were clean and dressed for the day, I put the photographs in a folder and we went to see mom in the hospital.

We got there to find Detective Reynolds already there along with Zee and Kev. Zee had also changed into civvies, and Kev had the look on his face of a man who is no longer a virgin. I know the look, since I'd just seen it in the mirror myself earlier. They were showing mom their pics from the night before, and mom had laughed at the proof pic of the poster they sent to Kev.

"It's about time you two got here! I was beginning to wonder." Mom pretty much knew what had transpired, but said nothing about it.
"Hi, mom. We brought pictures too." I set the folder in her hands so she could look through them.

Mari interlaced her fingers with mine as we sat on the couch with mom and went through the photographs. Mom was impressed, and told Mari how beautiful she looked in that dress. Kev and Zee were grinning and holding hands as we compared our pics, and we laughed at the hamminess of the poster pic too, but even Mari had to admit it was a sexy pose by Zatanna.

Mom recovered fairly quickly, and was released from the hospital Monday evening, a week after she was admitted to the ER. I drove her home and helped her as much as possible. Mari and I continued to date the rest of my senior year and into the summer, but she was gone a lot on JLA business. It was rough, but I also got to visit the Satellite a few more times and talk with other members of the team.

I decided to join the Army and see where that took me. Ft. Benning, GA was my home for almost six months for Basic and Infantry training, and then Airborne and Ranger Schools. When I was assigned to my unit after training, I was tapped almost immediately for a special task force called Checkmate. It seemed they had heard of me already, from some of my new friends in the Superhero community. I was transferred from the US Army to Checkmate full time after my probationary period was up. It became one wild ride after another, chasing down and bringing in or even terminating super powered criminals around the globe.

Then I got the news that two Suicide Squad members had been captured by Intergang, but that nothing was being planned to get them back.

__________________________________________________

Chapter 2: Secrets & Lies

***THE PRESENT***

I smiled as I remembered that week and the months that followed, then extended the wings on my suit as I hit the correct altitude and started my long glide down to where my target was being kept. I followed the coordinates on my Goggles' GPS and projected glide path. My thick weave spider silk combat suit would provide a lot of protection from the guns I would be facing, and my own weapons and skills would see me through, or so I hoped.

I landed just outside the cave and retracted the wings along the arms and down my back. They retracted back to nearly nothing, and it was impossible to tell that I had even sprouted them. This suit was state-of-the-art, and I was loving my new job. It paid well, and I was still only a Pawn.

I saw the two guards outside the cave entrance. I aimed my right hand wrist launcher and fired two darts. The darts hit the Intergang guards and knocked them cold with the powerful tranquilizer. I vaulted down the side of the hill and ran past their sleeping bodies at a dead sprint.

The reason I went in alone was because a strike team would have been too easily spotted, and they would never expect a lone Operative. That was the main reason Waller wouldn't authorize it. I had the sonar depiction of the cave translated into visual on my Goggles display. Checkmate sometimes did questionable things, but this was straight up, and I would complete the operation or die trying.

I crept silently through the tunnel, listening for enemy movement. I caught sight of one at the first bend, but waited to see if he was alone. My dark gray and black armored suit would shield me from thermal sensors, so that I would appear as a small lizard, if at all. I spotted a second guard further in, and waited until they were close to each other. I once again aimed my compressed magnetic dart gun and fired twice.

Both guards dropped, and then I saw the third guard stand up and move into the light. He looked at his buddies for a moment too long, which gave me a clean shot that rendered him temporarily comatose too.

I slipped further into the cave, and clocked two more guarding a cell. That was my objective. I saw something glittering on the table across from the cell, and noted it for later. First order of business was to secure and extract the prisoner. Then I saw him. Lawton. Floyd fuckin' Lawton! Deadshot. One of the deadliest marksmen who ever lived, hence the name. He was kicked back smoking one of his ever-present cigarettes behind the bars of the second cell. His mask was pulled up enough for him to smoke, while still holding the targeting reticule over his right eye in place. They had removed his wrist guns.

Squad business. That's how Director Waller had put it. That was all she would tell me when I had... asked politely. I'd had to ask a bit more... insistently for some more detailed information. It made sense that Deadshot would be here too.

I once again took aim at the two guards outside the cell. Then I felt it. Something made a snik-shing sound and I felt a very thin pressure against my neck.

"Who are you?" The female voice asked me in a whisper.

I thought quickly. Who else would be here? Who would have motivation to be here? I thought back to Deadshot's known associates and it clicked.

"You can call me Caliburn, Ms. Savage. I'm guessing you're here for Lawton?" I asked in a whisper.

"You're good. Yes, I am. Why are you here?" She asked. We were keeping our voices low so as not to attract the guards' attention.

"The prisoner in the other cell. You can have Lawton, but the other prisoner and the pendant on the table come with me. Deal?"

"Deal." She retracted her blades, and I fired two darts at the guards outside the cells. They both fell temporarily comatose.

We sprinted towards the cells, and I grabbed the pendant as I passed the table. Scandal checked the guards and found the keys. She unlocked Deadshot's cell and tossed the keys to me with a nod. I nodded back and unlocked the cell with my objective in it.

I stepped inside and immediately noticed how bad it was. She was curled in a corner, shivering. She had been beaten repeatedly. I noticed Lawton limping as he'd stood up when Scandal unlocked his cell. They'd both been tortured. I knelt beside her.

"Mari?" I asked quietly. "Can you hear me, sweetheart?"

Her eyes fluttered open and she looked at me through bleary, swollen eyes. "Oh my God, Adam?" She asked weakly.

"Yeah, it's me. Here." I placed the pendant around her neck and clasped the catch behind her. "It's going to be ok, sweetheart." I gently lifted her in my arms and her head lolled against my chest as her arms went around my neck. She was crying softly as I carried her out of the cell.

Scandal had her arm around Deadshot's waist and his was around her shoulders to help support his weight. He'd removed his mask the rest of the way and was looking at us with a concerned expression.

"Will she make it?" Deadshot asked.

"She'd better." I replied.

I felt Mari getting warmer in my arms as she activated her powers through the Pendant. I could see the bruises mending themselves under her skin as she accelerated her healing. She moaned softly against my chest.

"Come on, Caliburn. Let's get out of here." Scandal led the way, carrying the hobbling Deadshot with me bringing up the rear with Mari still in my arms.

I saw Catman guarding the entrance as we approached, and the banshee, Jeanette, fling herself into Lawton's arms. Interesting. I filed that away for later, just in case. Then I saw him. Bane. Even without the Venom pumps, he was a monster of a man. Hugely muscled, but now with a look of sanity about him that he'd never had before. While most everyone feared his size and prodigious strength, I knew that it was his intelligence that was the most dangerous part of him. He was on par with Bruce Wayne or Ra's al-Ghul.

He just nodded to all of us and approached Scandal. "The Chopper's waiting." He announced.

"Good." She turned to me as I set Mari on her feet. "You two need a lift?"

"Nah, thanks, though. We have our own transport inbound." I nodded in thanks to her. Then I felt Mari tugging my mask off.

As soon as my mask was free of my head, she kissed me passionately as if we'd been apart for years. Well, it had been months, since she had gotten roped back into the Suicide Squad by Waller. I'd been working for Checkmate most of the time.

I returned her kiss just as passionately and deeply. "I missed you, sweetheart." I said it as I broke the kiss. "But we kind of have an audience." We turned and looked at the Secret Six.

Deadshot grinned and opened his mouth to say something.

"Shut it, Lawton." Mari beat him to the punch.

"But he's a kid, Vix!" Lawton said.

"No, Floyd. He's a man who, four years ago, aided the Justice League in saving his High School Senior Prom from the Royal Flush Gang, and apprehended one of them singlehandedly." Mari said with a smile.

"How would you know that, Vix?" Lawton asked with a smirk.

"Because I was his date that night." She answered with a suggestive smile at the memories of that night.

They laughed as Deadshot sputtered. He had no comeback for that, so he pulled his mask back over his head and hobbled away towards where their chopper was waiting. The rest of his team were laughing at his expense.

I took Mari in my arms again, kissing her lovingly. "It took me quite a while to find you, sweetheart. Did you and Lawton get captured together?"

"Yeah. Three weeks ago. Floyd had to cut down to one cigarette a day, since he only had a pack left." She grimaced. I couldn't blame her.

"He's going to die of lung cancer before someone has the chance to kill him." I shook my head.

"I had to put up with his second-hand smoke AND the Intergang interrogators!" Mari shuddered.

"Well, I got the cure for that, Mari. What do you say to a little R&R with me?" I smiled.

"I have a feeling I'd like that, baby. Where?" Her eyes lit up. It had been far too long for both of us, it seemed.

"Santa Barbara. Don't worry, I got some transportation lined up." I hit a button on the arm computer on the inside of my left forearm and the Imp descended to land close by.

"The X-98? But that's still..." She looked at me and giggled.

"Yeah, I kinda broke into Area 51 and borrowed it. I left a note." I smirked. It was true. I'd left a note on an unconscious guard's body in the Experimental Aircraft Hangar.

"Waller's going to kill you. You know that, right?" Mari was giggling uncontrollably.

"No way. She loves my winning smile and charming personality." I smiled smugly. "But seriously, she wouldn't dare. She'll probably just get Mr. Terrific to drum me out of Checkmate." I shrugged. "It was worth it to find you, though."

"I agree, baby. I missed you! Let's go." We walked to the Imp and hopped aboard. I jumped into the pilot's seat and Mari took the RIO seat behind mine.

Once the canopy closed, I lifted off and aimed west, punching the throttle full forward. "We'll be there in a couple hours, sweetheart."

"Jesus! How fast are we going?" She asked, surprised.

"Pushing MACH 6 right now. You wanna go faster? I could probably squeeze a little more out of her." I suggested.

She laughed. "No, that's ok. Let's just enjoy the ride."

So we talked a bit about what we'd been doing, and enjoyed the ride. When we got over Santa Barbara, I hit the optic camouflage and set down at my mom's house in the backyard. I love VTOL!

As we got out, Mom came outside just as I was closing the canopy so the optic camo would be complete.

"Adam! Mari! Oh my God!" Mom was surprised to see us, since she hadn't seen Mari for over a year, and she hadn't seen me for the last four months. As I'd explained to Mari, all she knew was that I worked for the United Nations now in a Metahuman Liaison capacity.

So she was a bit perplexed by my combat suit.

"Great to see you, mom!" I gave her a hug, then Mari gave her one right after I did.

"Glad to see you doing so much better now, Mrs. Ryder." Mari said as she disengaged the hug.

"Thank you, dear. You're in luck, kids. Dinner's almost ready, and you can join us!" Mom grinned and ushered us inside.

"Us? Mom, we really need showers." I told her. "How long until dinner's ready?"

"About half an hour. I have a... friend coming over for dinner, but you know I can't just make enough for two." Mom blushed.

I just grinned and grabbed Mari. We started upstairs as I said "Ok, mom. We won't take too long!"

Mom had a boyfriend! I just hoped he wasn't like my deceased father!

I showed her into my room. It was pretty much unchanged since the morning after prom, since I barely spent any time here. I had, however, planned for this eventuality.

We both grinned at the memory, and I opened my closet to get changed.

"Do you have anything I can wear, baby?" She asked.

I knew it would pay off! "Second drawer down in the dresser, sweetheart." I had found out her sizes and bought her some skinny jeans, shorts, tank tops and t-shirts, just in case she wanted to crash at my place. My place... Hah! I spent most of my time on one assignment or another. I spent maybe three days a month at home, on average. Sometimes I was gone for months at a time.

I heard Mari laugh. "Since when did you start dressing in women's clothing in my size?"

"I got those for you for just such an occasion, sweetheart." I moved up behind her and hugged her from behind. My cock was getting hard between her buttocks, and she wiggled back against me playfully.

She leaned back and kissed me. "Let's go shower, baby. We both kinda stink."

"I stink. You don't." I smacked her full bottom and ran for the bathroom with her hot on my heels.

I turned the shower on as she smacked my ass in return. When the water was hot enough, we stepped in and washed each other clean. She had two weeks' worth of cave grime on her, but that washed off after two or three scrubbings. I wasn't much better, since the spider silk armor made me sweat like a racehorse.

When we'd finished washing each other, we just looked into each other's eyes and felt the need we had for each other. I took her in my arms and kissed her as she stroked me back and forth. She then put her arms around my neck and jumped up on me, wrapping her long sexy legs around my waist. I held her by her thighs and she reached back and down to guide me up into her as she slowly lowered herself onto my hardness. I moaned and set her back against the shower wall as I thrust up into her hard and deep. She moaned as I grunted in animal lust. It had been far too long since we'd had the chance to be together, and neither of us was going to pass up the opportunity. The water streamed over us as we moved hard and fast together, our mouths hungry for each other's taste. She tensed up as she screamed into my mouth and I could feel her squeezing me inside her. I had been close already, but feeling her orgasm brought mine shooting out of me and deep into her womb. I came hard inside my Vixen, moaning into her mouth in pleasure and relief. I set her back down on her feet as I softened and fell out of her with a squelch, and watched my seed pour out of her and down the insides of her legs.

Mari giggled and pulled me close, kissing me passionately again. "I love that feeling, baby. You coming inside me feels so good!"

"I love filling you up, sweetheart." I answered her. "You feel so good around me when you come too, you know."

Once we were clean to our satisfaction, we dried off and Mari shaved her legs and other essentials while I went and got dressed in jeans and my old Batman t-shirt.

I still couldn't believe he was dead. Dick had taken over for him for the past six months since Darkseid wasted him. On the plus side, he made his death count and ended up killing Darkseid, but still. Bruce Wayne was dead, and it was a hard pill to swallow.

Mari came in as I was staring down at his symbol on my chest, and she came in and hugged me tight with her towel wrapped around herself.

She kissed me. "He'll be back, baby. The best ones always come back."

"I hope you're right, Mari." I held her as I kissed her lovingly.

I sat on my bed and watched Mari get dressed. She opted for the skinny jeans and a gold colored tank top and some running shoes. She looked amazing, and I told her so.

She got a grin on her face as she straddled my lap and put her arms around my neck. "Thanks, Mr. Checkmate Operative. I think I might rejoin Checkmate myself, or maybe go back to the JLA. Black Canary is still in charge, I think. I know Zee is still there."

We kissed passionately for a while until we heard the doorbell ring. I broke the kiss. "That must be mom's new boyfriend." I smirked. "Wanna go scare the civilian?"

"Now that sounds like fun!" She giggled.

We got up from the bed and casually walked downstairs to where mom was hugging a middle aged man with dark hair and light brown eyes. His hair was going gray in parts, but he was still built under his business suit. "You recognize him?" I asked Mari in a whisper.

"No." She whispered back. "He's not in the business that I know of." We then saw mom kiss him before we made a little noise.

"Ok, mom. We're ready for dinner." I said. They both turned towards us.

"Oh, there you two are!" Mom smiled. "I'd like you both to meet my friend Stanley. Stanley, this is my son Adam and his girlfriend...Vix." Mom knew that calling her Mari could be bad, but Vix could just be a nickname. She's only Mari to those of us who know her. In front of strangers, she's Vix until otherwise.

We moved over to them and shook his hand. "Good to meet you, Stanley. So, what do you do?" I asked.

"I'm an accountant up in Sacramento. What do you do?" He asked.

"I work for the UN, and Vix is member of the JLA. She was on temporary assignment to SD-6." I responded, indicating both of us. It was technically true... for the moment. The United Nations Security Council now runs Checkmate since the Darkseid incident, and Superpowers Division Six is the official term for the Suicide Squad.

I had to give Stanley credit for taking it all in stride. He didn't get VERY scared, but scared enough that he was going to be very respectful towards my mom, no matter what.

"Well, come on, everyone. Let me get the food out of the oven and we can eat." Lasagna. It HAD to be lasagna! I could smell it!

"I hope you like lasagna, Stanley. My mom makes the best lasagna in the world!" I looked for any strange reaction.

"I love it, actually." He smiled. No strange reaction. Hmmm.

"I hope you like it too, sweetheart." I told Mari in a whisper.

"I'm sure I will, baby." She replied and kissed my cheek.

We all sat and ate when mom served our plates up. God, I LOVE mom's lasagna! So did Mari when she ate her first bite. It was her first solidly good meal in over three weeks. Stanley got a look of pure enjoyment on his face, too. Ok, score another point for mom's new bf.

Mom mentioned our Prom four years back, and Mari and I laughed.

"Mom, it wasn't that big a deal." I said. "I mean, it was just the Royal Flush Gang. Those guys are D-listers at best." It amazed me that I now saw them as complete amateurs compared to some of the bad guys Checkmate has sent me after in the past few years.

"It was a big deal to me, young man. Not to mention a big deal to everyone you helped save that night." Mom scolded me, and I felt like I was 12 years old again.

"Your mom's right, baby. You did help a lot." Mari kissed my cheek again and made me blush.

"You're right, mom. Sorry. I've just been listening to Batman too much." Nobody but us in the Community knew that Bruce was dead. Dick had done a great job so far of filling his boots. When I reflected on all I knew, it was easy to see them as regular people doing what had to be done. Some have powers, while others don't.

"That's because Bats thinks EVERYONE but him is an amateur!" Mari stuck out her tongue at me.

"To hear you two talk about them in everyday terms is a bit strange to say the least." Stanley laughed.

"Took me a bit to get used to it too, man. I think having Vix and Zee as our dates helped Kev and me get over it a little faster than most." I could empathize with Stanley.

"And now you're both in the Community." Mari said, kissing my lips lightly. Batman had installed monitoring devices and booby-traps in mom's house for intruder detection and prevention. After what happened to Sue Dibny, nobody was taking any chances. Mom was religious about setting the alarms and defenses at night. The closest team was the Titans, who would be responding if anything were to happen. I also had a monitoring device handy just in case. The alarm would even sound if a microscopic signature was detected.

"Yeah. Neither one of us can believe it, sometimes." I laughed and kissed my girlfriend. We'd gotten a few dirty looks when we were out in public sometimes, mostly in the Deep South. Louisiana was bad when we went after Killer Croc the year before. The locals had been less than friendly to us as a mixed-race couple. Oh, they'd been more than helpful when we were on the job, but when we decided to stay for Mardi Gras, things took an ugly turn, and five of the local Klan had ended up badly maimed.

"Kev's been adapting well to working with Oracle." Mari informed me. I knew he was working in IT for someone, but now I was impressed.

"No kidding! He said he got offered an IT position, but wow!" I replied. I hadn't seen him in over a year. Now he was working for Barbara. I caught a slightly strange look on Stanley's face when Mari mentioned Oracle. I leaned in close to her and whispered in her ear. "We might want to wait until Dick can run a background on Stanley here before we give out any more info."

"You're right, baby. Sorry." She whispered back. She smiled and kissed me as if we'd just whispered sweet nothings to each other.

"Mom, is it ok if we crash here tonight? We're taking some AWOL R&R together." I joked.

"Of course, dear! You're both always welcome, and you're also consenting adults, so I have no problem with you two..." She left it hanging.

Mari and I both blushed at that. "Thanks, mom." I couldn't think of anything else to say. "Come on, sweetheart. We need to check something upstairs." I rose and took Mari's hand. Once we'd deposited our dishes in the dishwasher, we both hurried up the steps to my room.

As soon as we got inside, I switched on my laptop and logged in to Checkmate's server. I checked the footage from our house and froze a good front on shot of Stanley's face. Mari looked on as I ran it through the Checkmate database of known criminals or Metahumans. No hits, so I checked FBI and Interpol. FBI had him listed as Stanley Hawthorne of Sacramento. He'd been vetted to be an accountant for several government organizations.

"He looks clean." Mari nodded.

"So far. Homeland thinks he's clean, but we're gonna need Dick to run him, probably through Oracle. If there's any dirt on this guy whatsoever, Barbara can find it." I fished my cell out of my pocket and called him.

"Hey, Adam. What's shakin'?" Dick asked as he picked up.

"Hey, brother. I need a favor. Could you run a background on a Stanley Hawthorne? And maybe get Barbara to help out? I'm emailing you a pic of him now. He's my mom's new boyfriend."

"Sure, man. Homeland come up clean?"

"Yeah. I dunno. He seems like a good guy, but I don't want to take any chances. He seems almost..."

"Too perfect?"

"Yeah. Says he's divorced with a daughter my age. He's an accountant with IRS level reliability. Daughter's name is Samantha. Single, going to college at UCLA. We can check her out on our end, if you can run a dragnet on ol' Stanley's records."

"Will do, Adam."

"Thanks, Dick. I owe ya one."

"It's all good, man. Talk to ya when Oracle or I know something." He hung up.

I closed my phone and looked at Samantha Hawthorne's file. She'd been vetted by the FBI along with her father to make sure she wasn't a security risk. Her social checked out, same as her father's.

"We'll have a few days before Waller realizes I've been rescued. Want to take a trip to the UCLA campus tomorrow, baby?" Mari asked me. As she knelt beside my chair and put her arm around my shoulders from behind.

"Sounds good to me, sweetheart." I turned my face to hers and kissed her. "Undercover work is fun, sometimes."

"True. Just don't flirt with her THAT much. I don't want another incident like what happened with Cheshire." She gave me a warning eyebrow.

"Hey, I stuck to the script on that one! No way can you blame me for that!" I chuckled.

"You didn't have to let her kiss you!" Mari laughed along with me.

"It was either that or let her castrate me. Jade had her claws around my fun parts! Then you'd have had to get a new boyfriend!" I laughed even harder.

That had been a very tricky situation. She'd had her claws around my nuts when she'd told me to kiss her. I'd had no choice, even with Mari, Dinah, and Oliver about to bust in and take her down. When she'd seen them after breaking our kiss, she'd jumped off me and left my nuts alone.

"Hmmm. True. I'd have to train a new guy to please me the way that you do naturally." She straddled my lap and kissed me passionately.

"Mmmmmm, Mari. Let's see if mom and Stanley are done with dinner yet." I winked at her and swiveled the chair so we could both watch as I accessed the dining room camera.

Mom and Stanley sat at the table talking and holding hands. I activated the mic on the camera itself.

"I like him, Lynn. He seems like a good young man."

"He is, Stanley. He's my son. In spite of his father, he's grown up to be responsible and nice to girls."

"I'd like to introduce him to my daughter if he and Vix ever break up."

We listened intently now.

"Is Samantha still at UCLA?"

"Yes, she's a Senior now, and going for her Law degree starting next year. How about Adam?"

221

"Oh, he's busy as a bee with his Metahuman Liaison position with the UN. He makes very good money there."

"Well, he's a good responsible young man, and judging from my daughter's ex boyfriends, he might just be her type and won't break her heart."

"Ok, I've heard more than enough. How long would I get if I ripped his head off, baby?" Mari said, pissed off now.

"Sweetheart, let's just hear them out. We can check out daughter dearest in the morning." I replied.

"Adam and Vix have been together for four years now, Stanley. I don't think they're going to break up anytime soon." Mom laughed and smiled.

"Well, if they do break up or anything happens, let me know. I'll see if I can set him up with Samantha."

"Oh, ok. But I seriously doubt it will happen anytime soon, if at all. I think he's going to ask her to marry him."

I jumped a bit as Mari put her arm around the back of my neck and pulled me to her breasts. She was purring like a great cat upon hearing mom's words.

Stanley was laughing now too, but I thought I could detect a bit of... disappointment? No. Anger around his eyes. His laughing smile didn't reach his eyes. Yeah, something was definitely going on with him. I reached over and shut the mic off.

"Yeah, he's up to something, sweetheart. Did you see his eyes? He's angry at our situation." I was staring intently at the screen as mom and Stanley stood up and embraced each other. He gave her a long lingering kiss before she walked him to the door and let him out. She locked it behind him.

"I see it, baby. He's up to something, alright. Now, about maybe getting married... do you want to really?" Oh boy. Loaded question.

"If I say yes, what would you say? Also, if I said no, what would you say?" I was hedging my bets.

"I'm not sure. I would like to know how you feel, though." She was hedging too.

"Hear me out and please listen to what I have to say, ok?" I asked, looking into her eyes and smiling.

"Ok. Go ahead." She nodded.

"Mari, I don't know if that's what we are, you know? Marriage is ugly sometimes. I mean, look at my mom and Frank. That was a train wreck. Look at Dinah and Ollie. Another train wreck. I mean, I know I'm not like either of them, but even some who love each other in our line of work don't make it. No, no! Don't look at me that way. I'm not done yet! Ok? Ok. Now, if we were to get married, we would have to settle down a bit. All this running around we've done the last four years has been murder on our love life. We don't see each other for months at a time, sometimes. Waller has you doing God knows what in God knows where for God knows whatever reason. Director Holt has me doing pretty much the same stuff for Checkmate. I worry about you whenever some global or universal crisis happens. Would you want to resign and settle down with me?" I finally took a deep breath.

She thought about it and looked at me. She ran her hands down the sides of my face as she gazed into my eyes. "Not yet, baby. I love being with you. I love what we do, though. We make a difference in the world." She said it with a sad smile. "I'm content to just be with you for as long as we can."

I kept my face expressionless as I mentally breathed a huge sigh of relief. I was scared to death of getting married to anyone, not just Mari. If she'd asked me to, I would have, though.

"Then I'm content to be with you whenever possible too, sweetheart." I kissed her lovingly. She returned my kiss with equal tenderness as I stood up with her in my arms and carried her to the bed.

We undressed each other slowly, loving the intimacy we were feeling as we touched and caressed each other's bodies. I loved her breasts, licking and sucking them and the deep valley between them. She moaned and shuddered beneath me as I kissed my way down her flat toned stomach, licking down to her bellybutton and circling it with my tongue. She squealed in delight as she spread her thighs when I started downward from there and over her shaved pubic mound.

I spread her lower lips apart with my fingers and my tongue slipped inside her hot pussy. I swirled and twisted my tongue deep inside her as she moaned and cried out as I pleasured her innermost core.

"Yyyyyeeeessss, baby! Eat me out good! Oh God, your tongue is amazing!" She moaned and I could taste her getting wetter as I licked and ate her. My tongue flicked across her clit and she came hard, bucking her hips up against me and entwining her fingers in my hair and holding my mouth in place as she came. Her scream was loud and long as I kept licking her love button. I sucked her clit between my lips and she shuddered through another orgasm, drenching my face with her juices.

I moved my face back as she came down from her third orgasm in a row, and she breathed raggedly as she shook from minor aftershocks. "Oh GOD, Adam!" She exclaimed.

"I'll take that to mean you liked it?" I grinned as I licked as much of her sweet juices from my lips and face as possible.

"That, baby, is the understatement of the millennium!" She exclaimed and drew me up over her to kiss me hungrily. I returned her kiss just as ardently and felt her hand between my thighs guiding me to her entrance.

I thrust into her slowly, deliberately, feeling every inch of her tight wet heat engulfing me as I filled her completely. We moaned in unison as we found completion with each other and started moving together slowly and lovingly. I gazed into her eyes while thrusting in and out, rolling my hips and filling her over and over. Her hips thrust up to meet mine as her hard chocolate colored nipples rubbed against my bare chest. She was wet, tight, hot, and I lost myself in her. I allowed myself to drift completely into the sensation of our bodies moving in perfect harmony together.

Her hands ran up and down my back, pulling me down so our mouths met in a passionate kiss. Our tongues invaded each other's mouths and we once again felt our climaxes ascending. I thrust faster into her, her moans and cries getting louder as she rode the crest of the breaking wave of her orgasm. I felt her pussy grip me tight and massage me inside her, and she begged me for my cum. "Give it to me, baby. God yes, Adam! Give me your cum inside me!"

I couldn't hold back anymore and came hard as I thrust all the way into her to the root. My cock pulsed inside her spasming pussy, unloading into her womb.

Our bodies tensed, and her legs around my waist pulled me tightly to her. As we slowly came down, I collapsed on top of her, breathing hard into her neck. We were both drenched in sweat, and I rolled off Mari to lay beside her. She cuddled up against me and molded her body to mine. Her arm went across my chest as her leg went over my waist possessively.

"Wow, Mari!" I exclaimed quietly. We'd managed to keep it relatively down... hopefully.

"Mmhmmmpphh." She agreed, her moan of approval muffled by my neck. She lifted her face and kissed me long and tenderly. "That was wonderful, baby."

"Yes you are, sweetheart." I smiled and returned her kiss.

"Thank you, baby. You're pretty wonderful too, you know." She grinned.

"Thanks, sweetheart. Oh, about tomorrow. Do you know any telepaths that could maybe help us out with questioning the daughter?" I asked.

"Megan might be able to help." She said. I raised an eyebrow.

"Miss Martian. M'gann M'orzz. Ever since J'onn died..." She trailed off. I held her close.

"Don't give up hope yet, Mari. Is she a Titan?" I thought I'd heard of her before. She could also shapeshift, which would give us a huge advantage.

"Yeah. She can blend in and get a read on Samantha Hawthorne." Mari said.

"Good plan, sweetheart." I kissed her. We snuggled close as sleep took us, our plan set for in the morning.

We awoke in each other's arms the next morning, and kissed each other tenderly. "Good morning, handsome."

"Mmmmmm good morning, beautiful." I said as I smiled lovingly at her.

"Lemme get my com unit and give the Titans a call to see if we can borrow Megan for a bit." She slowly untangled her legs from mine and reached down to her jeans to retrieve her comm. Her perfect butt was up in the air, and her pussy lips were on full display as she leaned down over the side of my bed.

"Has anyone ever told you that you have the perfect behind, sweetheart?" I asked with a smile.

She looked at me and giggled. "Why no, baby. I don't think anyone has ever told me that."

"Well, then I will later." I winked, and she slapped me across my chest playfully. "But seriously, Mari. You have the absolutely most perfect butt I've ever seen in my life!"

"Thanks, baby." She winked at me, then opened her com unit. "Vixen to Titans Tower."

"Titans Tower, this is Cyborg."

"Hi, Vic. It's Mari. Is Megan around by any chance?"

"I think so, Vix. Lemme check."

He put her on hold, so I pulled her down beside me and kissed her neck, which made her moan a bit.

"Mari? Hey, I found her, one sec... Umm, are you with Adam right now?" He asked as he heard her soft moans.

"Uhh, yeah, Vic. I'm here. We need to talk to Megan, though." I grinned, and Mari gave me a naughty twinkle as she smacked me across the chest again.

"This is Megan. What's up?" She asked.

"Megan hon, we could use your assistance at UCLA. How soon can you meet us there?" Mari asked.

"I can be there in a few minutes. Is everything ok?"

"Not sure, sweetie. I'm Adam, by the way. We need you to get a read on someone there while I talk with her. Is that cool with you? She and her father could be trouble for my mom and others in the community. We can brief you better once we see you." I told her.

"Sure. I'll meet you guys at the Freshman dorm. I'm starting there in the fall anyways." She said in a chipper voice.

"Thanks, Megan. We appreciate it. We'll be there in half an hour." Mari hung up.

"Sounds like we've got ourselves a mind reader." I grinned.

"She's a lot more than that, baby. She's nearly as tough as J'onn was."

"I know, but for now we just need her telepathic skills. We might need her Martian strength later on, though." I told her evenly.

Mari nodded at that and we dressed quickly. I threw on my black and gold Ranger t-shirt and jeans, while Mari dressed in skinny jeans and my old L.A. Dodgers jersey, which she tied up in front of her, leaving her midriff bare. Mom was up and cooking breakfast when we got downstairs in our civvies.

"Smells good, mom!" I smiled at mom. I love scrambled eggs and bacon!

"Thanks, sweetie. Where are you two off to, today?" Mom asked.

"Well, my friend Megan is looking to go to UCLA in the fall, so we're going to accompany her on a tour of the campus." Mari said.

"Oh, that sounds like fun. When are YOU going to go to college, mister?" Mom asked me archly.

"When I'm not so busy playing Metahuman Liaison at the UN, mom." When I'm not capturing or terminating bad guys for Checkmate, mom. Yeah, that wouldn't go over so well. She worries enough about me already.

"Fine. Stanley and I were having a nice conversation last night about your academic future." Mom said.

"Mom, I tell you what. If I like what I see at UCLA, I'll consider applying there. No promises though, Ok?" If it got her to back off, it would be worth it.

"I think that's a great idea, baby." Mari squeezed my hand and winked at me. She'd told me while visiting me when I graduated from Ranger School that she didn't usually date within the Community. She told me about her former boyfriend Bronze Tiger and how their relationship had gone south. She didn't want me to get hurt, but I didn't want her to get hurt either. Then she said that it was a relief to be herself around me and not have to lie about who she was. Mari McCabe had been a supermodel, but had retired to pursue Justice full time.

"Like I said, no promises. Ok?" I said to both of the women in my life.

"Fine." Mom said. Mari just smirked at me.

She set plates of scrambled eggs and bacon in front of us, and two cups of coffee. We ate and drank and loved every bite of it!

"Alright, let's go. We'll take the Civic, and I'll send the Imp back." I pulled my cellphone out and dialed in the code to send the Imp back to Area 51's Experimental Aircraft hangar.

"Is that the invisible jet sitting in my backyard, Adam?" Mom asked.

"Yeah, mom. Mari and me were on a training mission, and finished it early. We decided to come straight here." It was a flimsy story, but it should hold up here.

We heard the faint whine of the Imp lifting off, then a sonic boom as it accelerated on its preprogrammed course back to its home base.

"Love ya, mom. See you later." I hugged mom and kissed her cheek before we went out the door.

"Ooooh, I LOVE what you've done with it!" Mari grinned as I gunned the twin turbos and slammed my shifter into third gear.

"Thanks, sweetheart. Dick and Damian helped me supercharge it a few weeks ago. That kid IS his father's son. He's a born genius!" I got on the freeway and headed towards UCLA.

We made it there just before Megan. Then we saw a redhead walking towards us and waving.

Mari waved back and we walked to meet her. "Megan, this is Adam DeVries. Codename: Caliburn. Adam, this is Miss Martian." Mari introduced us.

We shook hands. "Good to meet you, Megan." I pulled a printed pic of Samantha Hawthorne out of my pocket and showed it to her. "She's the tar... objective here. Sorry, she's not a target unless we verify harmful intent." I shrugged.

"Ok, I have her face memorized. Now let me see here..." She closed her eyes for a few moments and concentrated. "Ok, got a lock on her. Sorry, it was like looking for a needle in a haystack." She smiled. She was cute, that's for sure.

"Thanks, Megan." I smiled at her, and she smiled back and bit her lip.
'You're cute.' I heard in my mind. Oh, right. Martian telepathy! It works both ways.

'Thanks.' I thought in reply.

'Anytime, stud.' She was now mind flirting with me.

"Anyhow, time to get going. Let's go find her. Stay out of sight, sweetheart. No idea if Stanley has notified his daughter of your appearance yet." I spoke the last to Mari.

"Good call, baby. I'll be around in case you need me. Megan, send me a mind shout if you guys get into trouble." Mari smiled at her friend.

"Will do, Vix. Let's go, stud muffin." She took my arm and I sent a shrug at Mari. I know how jealous she can get. Megan was pulling me along toward where Samantha was.

We played the part of tourists and potential students. We found Samantha as she was leaving one of her pre-law classes and I 'bumped' into her.

"Oh, damn! I'm sorry about that. Are you ok?" I asked as I picked up her book bag for her.

"Yeah, thanks." She looked at me and her face broke out in a smile. Either she really liked me, or she had already been shown my pic by her daddy.

"No problem, sweetie." I gave her my most charming smile.

"Hey, I'm going to get something to eat. Want to join me?" She asked.

'She knows who you are, Adam.' Megan said in my mind.

'Sorta figured that. Thanks, Megan.' I thought back.

"Sure, why not? I'm new here and was just walking around with my cousin Megan. Mind if she joins us? She's looking to go here too." I asked.

She looked at Megan. "Sure, come on. The more, the merrier." She smiled at both of us and we started walking towards the cafeteria.

'She wants me to go away.' I heard Megan mentally giggle.

'We'll get there when we get there. We might be able to get her thoughts better if you aren't in the room. We'll see what happens when we get to the cafeteria.' I gave her my new and improvised plan.

"Thanks. What's your name?" I asked her.

"I'm Samantha, but you can call me Sam. And you?" She smiled a very sexy smile at me.

"I'm Adam. Great to meet you, Sam. Are you Pre-Law?" I asked.

"Yes indeed. I'm starting law school next fall." She said.

'Nothing yet other than she was waiting for you to slip up and give her a false name.' Megan thought at me.

'Thanks. Yeah, it wouldn't do for her to know my name before I told her. She's careful.' I thought back.

We got to the cafeteria and Sam looked at my t-shirt. "You served, Adam?" She asked.

"Yeah, 1st Batt. Why?" I asked.

She leaned up and kissed my cheek. "Just wanted to thank you for your service, Soldier." She winked.

'What a slut! She's throwing every trick in the book at you, just be warned! I can see what she's planning to do to seduce you.' Megan warned. I smiled.

"Just did my job, Sam." I said and smiled at her.

'Here it comes. She's going to ask if you have a girlfriend!' Megan warned just before Sam asked.

"So, Adam. Are you spoken for?" Sam asked. "If not, I'd like to invite you to a party tomorrow night at my Sorority House. I'm in Phi Beta Kappa." She winked at me.

I thought fast. "Well, my now ex broke up with me this morning. Not sure what's going to happen next, but she was really pissed off at me. We had a fight over career choices." I shrugged and gave her a sheepish smile.

"Why? What do you do?" She asked.

"I work at the UN, but I'm on vacation right now. Came out to see my mom and my cousin Megan here. My ex flew back east this morning after she dumped me." I explained.

'Good job! She sees the opening!' Megan gave me the heads up.

'Thanks, sweetie! Let Mari know how things are going. She's going to have to lay low, though.' I thought at her.

'Done and done, Adam. This is something. She keeps her deeper thoughts very well guarded! I can't get a read on anything below the surface.' Megan warned me.

"That sounds exciting!" Sam said with a sultry smile.

"It's not all it's cracked up to be. It's actually pretty boring. I work as a Metahuman Liaison there. A lot of the Heroes are kind of stuck on themselves. Especially Batman." I had her hooked just from the look on her face.

'Oooh, you got her with the Batman line! She's ready to be reeled in, Mr. Fisherman.' Megan giggled mentally again.

"Well, I hope you can make it to the party tomorrow night. Here's my number." She wrote it down and handed the piece of paper to me.

"Thanks, Sam. I will." I smiled disarmingly at her.

Megan coughed and rolled her eyes. "Come on, Adam! We have to get going to meet my career counsellor!"

"Go on ahead, Meg. I'll catch up, ok?" I winked at her where Sam couldn't see, and she nodded with a smile.

"Ok, cuz. Meet me by the Freshman dorm when you finish eating." She smiled and bounced out. I looked back at Sam.

"She's a real sweetheart." I shrugged with a grin.

"Yeah, she's your cousin, huh?" Sam asked.

"Yeah. My aunt's daughter." I said.

'Get out of there! She knows you're lying!' Megan screamed in my head.

"Sam, why are you and your father messing with me and my mom?" I asked conversationally as I grabbed her wrists and pinned them behind her back. I marched her out of the Cafeteria and towards the Freshman dorm where Mari and Megan were waiting.

'Change of plans. It's time to interrogate her.' I thought at Megan. 'We know that she and her father are hiding stuff. Her father was acting very suspiciously last night.'

"Where are you taking me? I'll scream." She warned.

I pulled out my wallet and showed her my badge. "I'm Agent DeVries of Checkmate, and you are a suspect along with your father in a possible conspiracy. Now, come on. We can do this the easy way, or I can officially place you under arrest. Be advised that Checkmate has never heard of the Miranda Act. Got it?"

She shut up and walked. When we got back to the meeting place, Mari and Megan were standing there waiting.

"We need a good place to interrogate her. Security office." I motioned towards the front office building.

"Sounds good to me." Mari shrugged and looked daggers at Samantha.

We walked to the Main Office building and I showed my badge to the receptionist. I told her I would need access to an interrogation room for a bit, and she was more than happy to help.

"You can use Interview Room 4, Agent." She smiled at me, and I smiled back.

"Thanks, Bobbi." I thanked her name plate on her desk for her name.

When we had Interview Room 4's security camera disabled, and Megan determined we were clear, I turned to Samantha where I'd seated her at the table.

"Look, you can try to deny it all you want, but we know you and your father are planning something having to do with me and my mom. What the hell is it? If you refuse to answer or lie while answering, I'm going to turn my Martian friend here loose on you." I nodded towards Megan who dropped her Human disguise and appeared as a green Martian woman with red hair and eyes.

Sam's eyes went wide at that, then she looked at me in a panic.

"You've heard of them, and you know they can flay your mind alive if you hold back information." I told her.

"I'd prefer that didn't happen, Samantha." Mari said to her. "If you reply truthfully, our colleague here won't have to resort to those tactics."

'Act like you want to flay Samantha's mind, Megan. We're doing good cop/bad cop/worse cop here.' I thought at her and she started smiling evilly at Samantha.

I shrugged. "Megan looks like she wants to do it. I say we let her."

"Ok! I'll talk!" Samantha nearly shouted. We all looked at her expectantly. She took a deep shuddering breath to calm herself. "Stanley isn't my father. I'm not sure who he is, but he hired me off the street for this gig. My name is real, but I'm an orphan, and his name isn't Stanley Hawthorne. I'm not sure what his real name is, though. I'm sorry, that's all I know!"

'She's telling the truth. She's really scared, Adam.' Megan sent.

'Of us or her wannabe daddy?' I asked mentally.

'Both. We just scared her a bit more.' She replied in thought.

'Cool. Thanks, sweetie.' I looked up at Samantha. "Sam, we're going to have to detain you while we question your father. Megan here is going to take you to Titans Tower, where you'll be held for the time being. You won't be harmed or further interrogated, and will be released if your story checks out. Thank you for the information." I nodded, and Megan took custody of her.

Once we were outside, Megan flew her off toward Titans Tower.

"We need to get home now." I said to Mari, and we sprinted for my car. I tore out of there at breakneck speed, slamming the hammer down on the way back home. When we got to the house, mom's car was there, so I pulled in beside it and shut down the engine.

We ran inside quickly. "Mom!" I called. "We're home!"

"Over here, sweetie!" Mom called from the living room.

We walked in and mom was watching one of her soaps. "Hey, mom. When's your next date with Stanley?"

"Tomorrow night, why?" She asked.

"Mom, I don't know how to tell you this without seeming like the bad guy, but I have Dick running a background check on Stanley, and his daughter isn't even his daughter. You might call it paranoia, but this time it's real." I went on to tell her about our interview with Samantha Hawthorne at UCLA.

Mom was flabbergasted. "You do a lot more than just Metahuman Relations, don't you?"

"I'm a Checkmate Operative, ok?" I showed her my badge and ID.

Mom's eyes widened when I showed her. "Right now I'm kind of AWOL, but that's only because I'm pretty sure Mike Holt is giving me a bit of an unofficial vacation for rescuing Mari." I shrugged and put my wallet away.

"Mrs. DeVries, Adam does good work in helping to keep Earth safe." Mari told her.

"That's one of the most dangerous jobs in the world!" Mom was starting to hyperventilate.

"Mom! Listen to me. Ok?" She nodded as I said that. "Ok, good. I go after metahuman criminals. I bring them in or bring them down. You might say I'm a cop when it comes to supervillains. I have a spotless record when it comes to hunting them down, too."

Mom calmed down at that. I turned to Mari. "Honey, stay here with mom, please? I'm going to pay Mr. Hawthorne, or whatever his real name is, a visit."

"No way, Adam. I'm going with you!" Mari said.

"Fine, but we're not leaving mom alone." I pulled out my phone and called Titans Tower.

"Titans Tower, Miss Martian here." She answered in her chipper voice.

"Hey, cutie. It's Adam. Can you come over and keep my mom company while Mari and I pay a quick visit to Mr. Hawthorne up in Sacramento?" I asked, flirting lightly with her.

"Sure, stud muffin. I got her address. Go on, and I'll be there in a few minutes." She replied.

"Thanks, Megan. See you in a while. We're going now." I hung up and we sprinted out the door and into my supercharged Civic.

We took the 101 to the freeway, hit I-5 and floored it. It took an hour to get to Sacramento, and I called Dick for any news.

"Hey, Adam. Oracle's running him now. I forwarded it to her when I couldn't dig up anything new. She should have it done today." He said.

"Thanks, Dick. We kinda interrogated Samantha Hawthorne, and she says he isn't even her real father. We're on our way to his office now to check him out." I informed him. "Megan is watching mom while we're gone."

"Good deal, but be careful. This guy might be a paranormal or demon or something."

"Yeah, we're going in hot and loaded for bear." I told him. "Thanks, man. Have Barbara call me if she learns anything new."

"Will do. Take care." He hung up.

"Sweetheart, when we get there, I'm going in with MD's on both wrists. I'm not taking any chances." I said.

"Good, baby. I'll be right there with you." She leaned over and kissed my cheek. We were almost there.

When we pulled into the parking area by the office, I grabbed my Mass Driver Gauntlets out of the trunk. I slipped them on and checked to make sure they were fully loaded and operational. Then I grabbed my Goggles and slipped them on over my head. Mari grabbed some zip cuffs, nodded to me, and smiled. "That looks good on you, baby. The full facemask, not so much."

"I'll see if I can mod it a bit after this, sweetheart." I said and kissed her lovingly. "Now, let's go get some answers."

"Right with you, baby." She nodded and we entered the building together.

I showed my badge to the receptionist. "I'm Agent DeVries, this is Agent Vixen. We're here to see Mr. Hawthorne." I told her.

"I'm sorry, sir. Mr. Hawthorne is in a meeting." She blanched at the sight of us.

"That wasn't a request, ma'am. This is Checkmate business, and your boss is wanted for questioning." I lied. Well, not technically lying about him being wanted for questioning. We were going to question him no matter what. But this wasn't quite official Checkmate business... yet.

"M... m... meeting room three." She pointed down the hallway.

"Thanks for your cooperation, ma'am." I nodded to her and we walked down the hall. I opened the door and saw him giving a presentation to some of his colleagues.

"Mr. Hawthorne, you are wanted for questioning regarding a possible threat to Homeland Security and the United Nations." I showed my Checkmate Credentials. "I'm Agent DeVries, and this is Agent Vixen. Will you come peacefully, sir?"

He raised his hands. "Of course, Agent." He said. I kept him covered while Mari moved behind him and secured his wrists with the zip cuffs.

"Good. Come on." I led the way with Vixen pushing him forward between us. We turned and headed towards the elevator.

"Where are we going?" Stanley asked.

"Someplace where we won't be disturbed, Stanley. Don't worry. Your daughter has already told us what she knows. Now it's your turn." I said as we got into the elevator and I hit the Roof button.

We went up and up. "What did she say?" He asked.

"Enough to know you aren't who you say you are, and you have ulterior designs on me and my family." I got up in his face. "That was your mistake, Stanley. You do not mess with my family. Ever. Now, we're going to find out exactly what the hell is going on and then, if you're lucky, I won't throw you off the roof."

The door dinged and opened onto the top floor lounge with the door out to the roof itself. I pushed it open and Mari shoved him through. She never lost her grip on him, but as we neared the edge, she picked him up by his ankle and held him over the edge. She was enhancing her strength to do it.

I squatted down and looked him in his upside down eyes. "Who are you?"

"My name is Salvador Dominguez." He said. "Look, I'm just the middleman here."

"So you hired a college student off the street to be your daughter, but you're just the middleman? How does that work?" I asked. "What was your mission?"

He sighed. "Ok, I wasn't the middleman, but you have it backwards. She hired ME!"

"Really? She said something different about that. Vix, sweetheart, you can drop..."

"No! Wait! It's true! She hired me for this!" He begged. Mari just smiled as she kept her grip on his ankle firm.

"So? What was your plan, Sal?" I asked again. "I'm not going to ask a third time."

"It was to get close to you and your family. I romanced your mother while I young Samantha romanced you. I was... unaware of your lady here." He said, frightened out of his mind.

"Ok, now we're getting somewhere. Who hired you? Keep in mind that Vixen's senses of smell and hearing are really sharp, and can pick up lies very easily." I smiled at him.

"I... I was hired by Samantha. She's just an intermediary, though. The mission I was given was just to gain intelligence on you. Please don't ask me who my employer is! I'll be killed if I tell you!" He was really frightened now, and not of us.

"Was it Vandal Savage? Blink once for no, twice for yes. See, that isn't telling if I guess right, is it?" I reasoned. He blinked once.

"See? That's not so hard. Hmmm... Who else would have a bone to pick with Checkmate in general and has the money to fund a project like this... Was it Lex Luthor?" I was pretty sure it wasn't, since Luthor recognized the necessity of Checkmate. One blink from our friend Sal.

I went down the list of evil billionaires. "Ok, only a couple more. How about Ra's al Ghul?" I asked. He kind of twitched his head. Two blinks. Bingo!

"Thank you, Sal. Ok, Vix, set him down. Time to call my boss and let him know the situation." I kissed her quickly and grabbed my cellphone. I hit Holt's speed dial.

__________________________________________________

Chapter 3: The Devil's Daughter

"DeVries, you had better have a damn good reason for this." Mr. Terrific wasn't in a terrific mood that afternoon.

"Oh, you know I do, Bosman. I believe I have uncovered a plot by one Ra's al Ghul to infiltrate and subvert Checkmate. We have one of his operatives with us now. Ra's hired outside the League of Assassins for this one." I informed him.

"You're in Sacramento. Good. I'm bringing a dropship to pick you up now. I'm going to want a full briefing from you and Agent Vixen when we return." He hung up and I winced. He always knew Vixen would come back. She rolled her eyes.

She sighed. "That's why he's one of the smartest men in the world."

"He knows you can't stay away, sweetheart." I shrugged and we shared a smile.

Five minutes later, the dropship hovered over the rooftop and the ramp lowered. Terrific himself was onboard. "Get on. We need to get out of here before a League assassin shows up."

He didn't need to tell us twice. Once aboard and with the ramp closed, I gave him the Intel. "We have another one for interrogation at Titans Tower. Cyborg's watching her. This runs deep, sir."

"I'm beginning to see that. What gave this guy away?" He asked as Mari sat Sal down on the bench.

"Just a bunch of little things. He was sent to get close to my mother and says he was hired by our prisoner at Titans Tower to pose as her father to seduce my mom. Samantha Hawthorne tells a different story, that he hired her. I'm not sure what game al Ghul's playing, but I really hope we can get on top of this. No telling how many other Agents are potentially compromised." It was scary. Ra's al Ghul wasn't known for doing anything small.

"I see your point, Adam. I'll bring everyone in, and we'll get some telepaths to check them all out. We're swinging by Titans Tower now to pick up Ms. Hawthorne." He informed us. When we landed, Cyborg had Samantha ready for transport and I took custody of her myself. Then something clicked in my head...

I felt her knee hit me in the solar plexus and then her hands were free and she had leveraged one of my MD Gauntlets up under my chin. She had slipped her zip cuffs somehow without anyone seeing. She held me hostage with my own weapon, but now had five weapons trained on her.

"Stop! Now, everyone out except for Mr. Dominguez and Ms. McCabe. I already know that she and Adam are both qualified to fly this ship. That means you too, Mr. Terrific. Out! NOW!" The League Assassin said. God, I should have seen it before! Megan even warned me that she had some mental blocks in place that made reading her mind difficult. I was so focused on Stanley/Salvador at the time that I dismissed it! The pressure point she had used on me rendered my right arm numb.

"Do as she says." Holt said. He ushered his pilots out and disembarked himself. He nodded to me, and once we were onboard, she ordered Mari to take the controls and lift off.

Mari did as ordered, and the four of us took off. She disarmed me, removing my Gauntlets before zipcuffing my hands behind my back. She had Mari fly east, and crushed Dominguez's windpipe with a lightning fast strike. He died quickly, and she turned her attention to me. "You are good. You're both being brought before my master, who will decide your fates."
"What does Ra's al Ghul want, Sam?" I asked, keeping calm. No sense in panicking here. "Was it just me, or is Checkmate being compromised as we speak?"

Samantha sat beside me. She placed my left Gauntlet on her own hand and checked the functionality of the Mass Driver. Satisfied, she then ran her right hand up my inner thigh. "We could be so good together, Adam. But in answer to your question, it was just you. My master has plans for you and Ms. McCabe."

I glanced at the cockpit and Mari glanced at us with a worried look. Then something dawned on me, and once again I cursed myself under my breath. This wasn't Ra's al Ghul's doing. I chuckled. "Sam, its Talia, isn't it? It's not Ra's at all."

"Very good, Adam. You are as intelligent as advertised. My master likens you to her Detective in skill." She nodded at me in respect with a sultry smile on her beautiful face... Focus! Dick had told us about Bruce's son Damian being the new Robin, and his mother was Talia al Ghul.

"Batman would have seen it earlier." I shook my head and shrugged at her.

Before I could do anything, Samantha grabbed me and kissed me passionately. My lips opened automatically, and her tongue was in my mouth before I could say anything. I heard a hiss of anger from the cockpit, and Sam pushed me back, laughing. "Somebody's jealous." She smirked. I made a mental note to let Mari do whatever she wanted to Sam before this was all over. I had a very good feeling that Sam's lifespan was now measured in hours. Then I realized my toes had curled in my Nikes. Holy Jesus, she could kiss! I shook that thought out of my head, and Sam went up to the cockpit to take the co-pilot's seat.

She had my Mass Driver now trained on Mari, and I could barely make out their conversation as I started to slip the zip cuffs.

"He's a great kisser. Now I know what you see in him." Sam said to Mari conversationally.

"Just imagine if he was into it, Sam." Mari joked with her. "He's even better when he has some motivation behind it."

Good. Try to knock her off balance.

"Oh, I think he was getting into it until he heard you interrupt." Sam had a self-satisfied smirk on her face. Keep it together, Mari. Please. Dislocated thumbs now. Shit, that hurt! Sliding off the one side... got it. Now the second cuff... there! Pop thumbs back into place... ugh. GOD! Ok, better now.

"It's true, Sam." I said, getting her attention. "I wasn't really into it, but if you want, I could give it another try."

She looked back at me, and Mari shot me a glare that would have splattered me against the interior of the dropship if looks were really lethal.

Sam looked me up and down, and I smirked at her. That was her weakness. Me. Oh great. Now I had a complete psycho assassin stalker type!

"We can have some fun later after we meet with my master." She winked at me.

So we flew east until we landed someplace in the middle of a desert. It took a few hours to get there, but I didn't dare try anything while she was wearing the Gauntlet. If she fired a round, it would cause explosive depressurization if it breached the hull.

Once we were underground in the hidden hangar that had opened beneath us, it was time to see what was what. Sam came back and pulled me to my feet, and I disabled her with an arm bar and removed the Gauntlet from her hand. Mari grabbed her too, and we subdued her quickly. I slipped my Gauntlets back on, and Mari lowered the ramp to find the League of Assassins was there and waiting for us.

"Hey, guys." I grinned. "Where's the lady herself? We need to have a little chat."

"They will kill me to get to you!" Sam threatened me.

"Now why would they have you capture us and bring us all the way here just to kill us? I'm pretty sure Ms. al Ghul wants to at least talk with us a bit first." I pushed her forward as I walked with her and Mari brought up the rear. She was accessing her abilities again, so I was pretty sure she could hold her own if the shit hit the fan.

"I am here, Agent DeVries." And that would be Ms. Talia al Ghul, daughter of Ra's al Ghul. Very beautiful. Very deadly. Now I knew why Bruce fell for her in the first place!

"Cool. Here's your assassin." I shoved Sam forward none too gently. I may be a gentleman, but I have my limits when it comes to women trying to kill me.

"Thank you." She bowed her head slightly to me, then turned to Sam. "Leave and return to your chambers. Clean yourself up and prepare for your discipline.

"Yes, mistress." Sam bowed and shot me a baleful look before disappearing down a corridor to the left. Mari and I descended the boarding ramp to have a little talk with our hostess and find out why the hell she's interested in us now.

"Ok, Talia. We haven't formally met, but I was kind of a friend of Bruce's." I informed her. "Now, what do you want from us that you couldn't just come right out and ask for?"

"You are very direct, Agent DeVries. Very well. I need you to help me find my beloved." She looked completely calm, but her voice betrayed just a hint of love lost.

"Ummm, he's buried in Gotham City Cemetery. He's dead, Talia." I kept my voice even and shook my head slowly.

"No, Agent. He is not dead." She insisted.

"How do you know? Hell, we want him back too." I shrugged. I was willing to hear her out, at least.

"That, I can explain. Timothy Drake has been working for my father to find my Detective's whereabouts... or in this case, whenabouts." She beckoned for us to follow her.

I looked at Mari. "We might as well hear what she has to say." I shrugged.

"Fine, but if she tries anything..." She said, but shook her head as she trailed off.

"We'll burn that bridge if we get to it." I finished and gave her a smile.

We followed Talia into her briefing room where she showed us the evidence that Bruce was still alive.

"Are the dates on these correct?" I asked her. The pictures had approximate dates of when they were likely created. From cave drawings of the Bat symbol to journals in Bruce's handwriting.

"As far as we can tell, yes." Talia confirmed.

"Ok, all I've heard about his death is that Darkseid killed him. How? Do you know?" I asked her.

"From all reports, he was killed by Darkseid's Omega Beams. Why?" She looked perplexed.

"Talia, please trust me on this. I need to com my boss and find something out. Ok?" I said as I pulled out my cellphone.

She nodded. "Do what you must, if it brings my Beloved back to me." She looked worried, which is something you don't see too often from Talia al Ghul.

I called Holt.

"DeVries! Did you get away from her?" He asked.

"Negative, Mr. T. I need the file from Scott Free on the Omega Sanction sent to my phone immediately." I said.

"What?!?! That's TSCI ONLY!" He shouted.

"Sir, please just trust me on this! It has to do with Bruce!" I shouted back. "If it's what I think it is, I might be able to tell when he's going to be back!"

"How?" He asked, simply. Mike Holt might be the third smartest man in the world, but I'm the best with extrapolation theory and deduction. Taking Sherlock Holmes one step further.

"Just do it, sir. I need to do this." I said. I looked at Mari and Talia. Both were looking at me with concern.

"Fine. Sending you the file now." He said with an exasperated sigh.

"Thanks, sir. Talk to ya if we survive." I ended the secure call and opened the file as I received it.

I looked at the interview with Scott Free, greatest escape artist in the known multiverse. I compared his instructions on how to escape the Omega Beams with the photos and journalistic evidence of Bruce's trips through time. I extrapolated all possible outcomes and figured out the one most likely to succeed.

I squeezed my eyes shut. I HATE time travel. Everything from the Terminator movies left a bad taste in my mouth about self-perpetuating time loops and other bullshit.

"Are you ok, Agent DeVries?" Talia asked as Mari put her hand on my shoulder.

"Yeah. Time travel gives me a headache." I said as I reached up and squeezed Mari's hand gratefully. "Luckily, I know when he's going to show up in our time."

"When?!" She demanded, her eyes lighting up.

"As close as I can tell from the dates on these, not knowing if that's everything that exists, anywhere from three to six months from now, but it could be anywhere on Earth." I shrugged. "I'm sorry, Talia. That's the best I can do."

"I believe you, Agent DeVries. Thank you for your efforts." She smiled a bit.

"We all want him back, Talia. If you want him to love you again, stop with the world domination stuff, ok? Seriously, that's kind of a turn-off." I smiled at her. She glared at me. "Hey, just sayin'! Seriously, though, I hope you two can work something out when he gets back."

She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Fine. You have earned your freedom. I will... consider what you have said, Agent."

"Thanks, Talia. Hey. Don't give up hope." I told her as Mari and I headed back to the Checkmate dropship.

We boarded just as the roof split open above us. I closed the ramp as we entered, and Mari took the pilot's seat while I got in the other seat.

"That went better than expected." Mari said. I leaned my head back against the headrest and closed my eyes.

"Yeah, but I have a splitting headache now. Let's get outta here before my psycho hose beast stalker comes back." I chuckled. "Any aspirin aboard this tub?"

"You mean that psycho hose beast stalker that shoved her tongue down your throat earlier?" Mari growled.

"Yeah. Ugh, please don't, Mari. You know damn well and good that wasn't my fault!" I whimpered through the pain in my head and the thought that I was about to get reamed a new one for being the victim of an oral assault.

I felt her warm palm on my cheek as we shot forward into the sky. The next thing I knew, I was waking up as we landed on the street in Sacramento right behind the Civic.

"We're here, honey." Mari said quietly.

I stretched. "Thanks, sweetheart. You going back to Titans Tower to give Holt the dropship back? If so, I'll drive the Civic over there."

"Yeah, that works for me, baby." She leaned over and kissed me before I opened the door and got out.

I shut the door and watched her lift off. Then I threw my Gauntlets in the trunk of my car and fired her up.

The trip down the coast didn't take long, and I was at Titans Tower a couple hours later. I called Mari and let her know I was outside, and she came down with Vic beside her. I shook his hand. "Hey, Vic. Good to see ya, man."

"You too, Adam." He nodded. "Mr. Terrific is inside and waiting to debrief you."

"Great. Now is where I get drummed out of Checkmate... probably." I shrugged. I put my arm around Mari's waist and we went inside with our cybernetic friend.

We got to the conference room where Mr. Terrific was waiting and he got right to business. "Ok, DeVries. From the top. What the hell went on over the past couple of days?"

"Short version, Boss: I rescued Mari from an Intergang prison camp in Afghanistan, we made it back to find out my mom had a new boyfriend. That new boyfriend turned out to be a freelance agent for Talia al Ghul, and his fake daughter turned out to be a League assassin. She was so good at masking her thoughts that she even fooled Megan. Anyhow, we captured Salvador Dominguez in Sacramento, and you saw him when you picked us up. Fast-forward a bit, to when Sam got the drop on me, and she killed Mr. Dominguez after we lifted off. Since his body wasn't in the dropship when Talia let us go, chances are the League of Assassins removed his body. Oh, I extrapolated when Bruce is going to be back, within three to six months from now. But yeah, Talia let us go shortly after that and here we are. I picked up my car from Sacramento and drove down. Now, you might want to check the dropship for League listening or tracking devices." I finished and smiled.

Holt chuckled. "Adam, you are a piece of work, you know that? Amanda is calling for your head on a pike to be mounted in her office. Did you really have to leave her cuffed to her desk?"

"Yes I did, sir. It was vital to mission success to get Mari out alive." I nodded with a straight face.

"Very well, Pawn DeVries. You are hereby promoted to the rank of Rook. Congratulations." Holt said and scanned my ID Card. The hologram on it changed from the pawn to the castle piece.

"Umm, I thought you would just fire me." I admitted as my eyebrows shot upward.

"Why would I do that? Because Waller wants me to? You rescued a Checkmate Operative, spotted a freelance agent and his League Assassin handler, and found out what the League was doing to find Batman. You also got out of an enemy stronghold alive with no bloodshed. I'd say that warrants a promotion." When he put it THAT way...

"Thank you, sir." I smiled and shook his hand.

"And I would like to resume operations with Checkmate in a full-time capacity as Agent DeVries' partner, sir." Mari said with a smile.

"Done. You two work well together." Mr. Terrific nodded at both of us.

"Thanks again, sir." I said. I looked at Mari. "Shall we go, sweetheart?"

"Sounds good to me, baby. Megan is still at your mom's place." Mari reminded me. "Congratulations on the promotion, though." She put her arms around me and kissed me passionately.

Holt coughed. "Ok, then. I've already requisitioned the Imp for your personal use, and I'll call you when I have another mission for you both. Until then, enjoy some time off."

I broke the kiss and we looked at him. "Thanks, Boss Dude. Wow, the Imp! But that's still experimental!"

"Well, when you 'borrowed' it, thanks for the note by the way, you put it through its paces pretty well. I think you should get the first prototype while it goes into production." Mr. Terrific laughed when he saw my jaw hit the floor.

"Umm, ok. Thank you, sir!" I grinned, kissed Mari again, then she and I walked out with waves to our friends and boss.

We hit the freeway and were home in no time. We got into the house and Megan was watching soaps with mom. They were both crying over something.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Roger is married to Jill, but Jill is pregnant with Nate's baby. Nate loves Gina, but Gina wants Roger. It's all so romantic!" Megan sobbed.

"Sounds like a hot mess to me. By the way, we're done with the op. Sal... Stanley won't be messing with us again." I shrugged. Megan jumped up and hugged both of us.

"Glad you two are safe." She said.

"Hey, thanks for keeping mom safe, Megan." I replied, hugging her back.

"Yeah, thank you, Megan. We'll let you get back to Titans Tower or your show, whichever you prefer. We're going upstairs to have a little fun." Mari chuckled.

Mom seemed to notice us for the first time and got up to hug us too. It seemed like they'd gone through half a box of Kleenex already!

"I'm so glad you're home!" Mom hugged us both really tight. "Did you resign from Checkmate yet?" She asked me.

"No, mom. I actually got promoted to Rook." I replied. The whine of the Imp landing in the back yard under auto-pilot briefly interrupted me. "Oh, and Director Holt gave me the Imp."

"And I rejoined as a full-time Agent." Mari said helpfully.

Mom rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Really, you two need to resign and get married so I can be a grandma!"

"Mom!" I exclaimed, just as exasperated.

"Your mom has a point there, stud." Megan giggled. "I think you two make a great couple, and your babies would be beautiful!"

"Megan. Not. Helping." Mari said, blushing.

"Tell you what, mom. Mari and I will go upstairs now and work on making you a grandma. Ok?" I heard Megan and Mari both giggle at that suggestion, but mom was scandalized.

"Oh my God!" It was all she could say as I pulled Mari upstairs with me while Megan, Bless her, pulled mom back down on the couch to finish watching their soap opera.

As we entered my room, I turned to Mari. "We need our own place, sweetheart. What would you recommend?"

"Well, I still have my penthouse in New York from my modeling days, or just get that apartment that you like downtown here." Mari winked back.

"Or that. Yeah, I would miss the west coast, and I have my own hyper fast transportation now." I realized I was babbling to avoid talking about what was on both of our minds.

"Mari, I..." I started. I love you, I wanted to say I love you to her. In four years together off and on, neither of us had said it before.

I was saved by my cellphone buzzing, but it was a blocked number. Being reprieved, even if momentarily, was better than nothing.

"It's your quarter." I said as I answered the phone.

"Ahh, Agent DeVries. So glad I caught you. I wanted to thank you again for your assistance, and to apologize for sending our agent and the freelancer to infiltrate your family." Talia said on the other end of the line.

"Yeah, well all you had to do was ask, you know." I said, then mouthed 'Talia' to Mari then put her on Speaker. "Then Sal would still be alive and your Assassin wouldn't be disciplined or whatever. Hell, you probably already killed Sam." I shrugged. I knew how evil world dominators could be.

"No, Samantha lives, and will continue to do so for now. I also wanted to thank you for not threatening me over my tactics with your family." Talia said, and I snorted a quick laugh.

"Talia, I believe you know exactly what would happen if you had harmed my mom or anyone else in my family. I didn't have to say a word." I replied in a completely even tone.

"Hmm, true. Very well, Agent. I wish you well, and I pray our paths never cross as enemies." Talia said.

"Same here, Talia. Remember what I said before. There are other things you could do with your time than cull the human race or try to take over the world." I smiled.

She laughed. "I will consider it, Agent. Farewell." She hung up.

"How the hell did she get my number?" I asked to nobody in particular.

The End